Department of Human Resources

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Department of Human Resources

Ka ʻOihana Hoʻomohala Limahana

CODE OF CONDUCT

SOCIAL MEDIA

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES

CODE OF CONDUCT

SOCIAL MEDIA

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES

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The purpose of the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Human Resources (DHR) social media platforms and accounts are to share and announce City job opportunities, other related employment topics, and matters of public interest.

DHR welcomes the public to engage with our social media accounts by liking, commenting or sharing our content. Comments should be on topic, and Users are asked to address their comments to the specific topics discussed, and observe the conduct guidelines included herein. DHR’s social media pages are forums limited to the specific topics offered and raised by the department. Users who submit comments to our platforms and sites agree to the terms and conditions of this Code of Conduct by virtue of such use.

Any comment posted by members of the public on the City’s DHR social media is the opinion of the poster only. Publication of a comment does not imply endorsement by the City or DHR, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the City or DHR. Please be advised that comments may contain content that some may deem offensive.

All communications with the DHR are subject to applicable open records laws, including but not limited to Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 92F.

Comments made on DHR’s social media pages do not constitute a legal or official notice or comment to the City & County of Honolulu, and will not be regarded as a request for service or testimony.

DHR does not guarantee that social media comments are monitored regularly, and therefore, Users should not use this account to contact or provide notice to the City about dangerous conditions on public property or other dangerous situations. If a dangerous condition or situation exists, please call 9-1-1 and/or contact the Honolulu Police Department, Honolulu Fire Department, Board of Water Supply, or other relevant City Department.

DHR may post references or links to websites not owned or controlled by the City, or DHR. DHR is not responsible for content that appears on these websites and provide these links as a convenience only.

Users should expect to see posts discussing topics such as:

    • Job posting announcements;
    • Photography and videography of DHR events, City employee and job spotlights, ceremonies, special occasions, event notices, and more;
    • Video or photography which may include DHR attended events and interviews with City employees;
    • Occasional shared posts of alerts from the City’s other departments or agencies when appropriate;
    • Video or text content meant to educate or inform or entertain.

The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Human Resources (DHR) asks all commenters to be courteous and civil. DHR reserves the right to remove comments or conversation if content is unlawful or violates this Code of Conduct.

1. Limited Public Forum

DHR social media accounts are created and maintained as limited public forums under caselaw pertaining to the First Amendment to the U.S Constitution. DHR invites members of the public to view and provide comments or other engagement on our social media accounts in accordance with this Code of Conduct and all applicable laws.

2. Prohibited Content

The following classes of comments (include but are not limited to), are prohibited on DHR social media platforms:

    • Obscenity;
    • Child pornography;
    • Incitement to imminent lawless action;
    • Speech presenting a grave and imminent threat;
    • Fighting words;
    • True threats;
    • Fraud;
    • Defamation (libel/slander);
    • Solicitations to commit, or speech integral to, criminal conduct;
    • Copyrighted material (if posted without the copyright holder’s consent);
    • Comments unrelated to the purpose and topical scope of the post / page;
    • Solicitation, promotion, or endorsement of specific commercial services, products, or entities;
    • Profanity and references to sex or excretory acts or functions, including abbreviations, slang terms, phonetic spellings, backwards or upside-down spellings, mirror images, spellings substituting numbers/spaces/dashes for letters, or foreign words/phrases/emojis depicting the same;
    • Comments that refer or relate to individuals on the basis of race, color, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, or gender identity, except in the context of a job fair, DHR content, or other DHR activity at a cultural event, provided that commenters may self-identify using one or more of these categories.
    • Comments that refer or relate to genocide or any group that promotes violence towards others based on race, color, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, or gender identity;
    • The promotion, endorsement, derogation, of disapproval of a political campaign or candidate, provided that commenters may discuss positions/actions taken or not taken by Councilmembers, the Mayor, the Prosecutor, or other elected officials in their roles as elected officials;
    • Confidential personally identifiable information or sensitive personal information that if released violates federal or state law;
    • Information that directly interferes or compromises ongoing investigations, litigation, public safety tactics, or the safety of public safety officers or any other persons involved.
    • Information that compromises the public safety or security of the public or security systems;
    • Comments that contain a hyperlink to any website, application, other than those controlled by the City will be removed.  This will be done without regard to the viewpoint of the comment containing such a link or the content of the site to which the link redirects.
    • Comments or links that contain spam or link to other websites or applications;
    • Links to any site or content posted by automatic software programs such as “bots”;
    • Photos, videos, screenshots, JPGs, GIFs, graphics, animations, or similar imagery; and
    • Repetitive comments from the same User posted within a short period of time.

Posts that do not violate this Code of Conduct will be allowed, even if some might consider the posts to be offensive or insulting.

DHR appreciates and recognizes those in the community who choose to follow us on social media.

DHR accounts may follow or follow back various social media accounts; however, any such following does not constitute an endorsement of any referenced individuals, businesses, products, or organizations found on its social media pages.

While anyone may tag DHR in a social media post, tags that are unrelated to the purpose and topical scope of the page may be removed from DHR’s social media sites.

DHR may use filters provided by the social media platforms themselves and/or custom word/emoji blocks to hide or prohibit posts that fail to comply with this Code of Conduct or other applicable law.  If the platforms have filters controllable by DHR (as the “owner” of the site), DHR shall select the filter(s) that most closely match this Policy; DHR shall also monitor any posts blocked by the platforms’ filters and reinstate any post that complies with this Code of Conduct. 

If a User posts an item that violates this Code of Conduct and that is not automatically rejected based on the above-referenced filters, the following shall occur:

    • For a first violation, the post shall be hidden and, within twenty-four hours of the post being hidden, the User shall be notified of the violation via email or via the social media platform’s communication system. The User shall be provided with a copy of (or a link to) this Code of Conduct.
    • For a second violation occurring within six months of notification of a first violation, the post shall be hidden and, within twenty-four hours of the post being hidden, the User shall be notified of the violation via email or via the social media platform’s communication system. The User shall be provided with a copy of (or a link to) this Policy.
    • For a third violation occurring within six months of notification of a second violation, the User shall be blocked from the platform. Within twenty-four hours of the User being blocked, the User shall be notified of the violation via email or via the social media platform’s communication system.  The User shall be notified that the User was blocked and the User shall be provided with a copy of (or a link to) this Policy.  After thirty days, upon request by the User, the User shall be unblocked. 
    • For a violation that occurs within six months of being reinstated after being blocked, the User shall be blocked from the platform for twelve months. Within twenty-four hours of the User being blocked, the User shall be notified of the violation via email or via the social media platform’s communication system.  The User shall be notified that the User was blocked and the User shall be provided with a copy of (or a link to) this Policy.  After twelve months, upon request by the User, the User shall be unblocked.
    • Except as provided in the previous paragraph, a violation that occurs six months or more after notification of a previous violation shall be considered a first violation.

DHR shall also manually remove posts that fail to comply with this Code of Conduct or other applicable law. 

If you (a user of the DHR’s social media) believe your post was improperly hidden or removed, please contact DHR at [HROutreach@Honolulu.gov]. You do not need to identify yourself in your e-mail. In your e-mail, please provide the platform (e.g., Facebook, YouTube, etc.), the post to which you were responding, and the entirety of your proposed post. DHR understands that, when it comes to posts on social media, time is of the essence. If your post complies with this Code of Conduct, DHR will act expeditiously to reinstate the post and will adjust any filters, to the extent possible, to not exclude such content in the future. Any post that is reinstated shall not be considered a violation for purposes of hidden/blocked posts as described above.

Information and materials produced by the DHR and posted on these platforms and pages are City property. DHR retains the copyrights to all text, graphic images, videography, photography and other content produced by the DHR.

Unless otherwise stated, a User may, without obligation to DHR, view, copy, link to, or distribute information found here if for non-commercial use. DHR makes no warranty that information on our social media or web page are free of copyright claims or other restrictions on free use. Commercial use is prohibited.

“Comments” and “posts” include any digital content, information, links, images, videos, or any other form of communicative content posted in reply or response to a social media account operated by DHR.

“Social media” means digital content created by the City and communicated on platforms that allow sharing, commenting, and engagement from the public. Examples of social media platforms include LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, YouTube, Threads, and BlueSky.

“User” means a member of the public who views or interacts with one or more of our social media accounts.

This Code of Conduct shall be interpreted and applied only to the extent permitted by law. If any provision of this Code of Conduct, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, the remainder of the Code of Conduct, or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.

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