GNYADA October 2016 Newsletter

Legal Issues with “Selfies”

21

EMPLOYMENT CORNER GNYADA’s Employment Corner is a free recruiting and job placement service that lists qualified candidates for positions at dealerships. If you have a position to fill, call 718.640.2012 .

Social media is an extremely entic- ing platform for both free advertising and fun photos that give your dealer- ship a lively edge. But if this is part of your dealership’s business strate- gy, be careful about what those pho- tos include, and be sure to obtain signed consent forms from any sub- ject of a photograph you plan to use for marketing purposes. The use of customer “selfies” creates ample opportunities for business owners to profit from their use. It’s a common case in dealerships: a cus- tomer poses for a photo with their new car and posts it on social media; a dealer then sees the photo and leverages it for the dealership’s own social streams. It’s organic digital sharing, but it’s also now being used for business promotion. Use a Consent Form Whenever you post photographs of customers or employees for advertis- ing purposes, you must obtain a release from them. Without one, you could be sued for improper usage of the image, under New York’s Civil Rights Law. (Before you balk at the notion that staff should also have to sign a release, consider that they may not remain staff forever.) To avoid this headache, it’s wise to refrain from promoting images of customers, staff and other individu- als. If you do shoot or stumble across that perfect picture of a beaming cus- tomer giving an enthusiastic thumbs- up in front of the new ride they just bought from you, obtain that written consent before reusing it. A sample release form can be found at gnyada.com for reference and use. This article comes from the 2016 GNYADA Membership Directory “Hot Topics” section.

POSITION

RESIDES IN

FILE #

OFFICE Biller

Greenwood Lake

280 281

Staten Island

Bookkeeper

Rockaway Park

282

Office Manager

Manhattan

283

SALES

Sales

West Babylon

284

SERVICE Service Advisor

New Rochelle

285

Service Advisor Trainee

Massapequa Park

286

Service Cashier/Receptionist

Massapequa

287

Contact Us: Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association 18-10 Whitestone Expressway l Whitestone, NY, 11357 Dealer Hotline: 800.245.4640 l Headquarters: 718.746.5900 l email: assistance@gnyada.com DMV-DIRECT: 718.747.0400 l GNYADA Insurance Brokerage, LLC: 718.746.8100 l NYIAS: 718.746.5300 Center for Automotive Education & Training: 718.640.2000

The information contained in this newsletter may not be relied upon for the avoidance of tax penalties. Readers are urged to discuss any issues raised in this newsletter with their legal and tax professionals.

Printed on FSC certified material. All original material except where noted. © GNYADA 2016

Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association • www.gnyada.com

The Newsletter • October 2016

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