With the growth of blogs and other social networking like Linkedin and Twitter, news comes at us fast and furious these days. In a recent blog post, LexBlog CEO and legal marketing guru Kevin O'Keefe cited a recent survey finding that 55 percent of people hear about breaking news on Facebook and 20 percent on Twitter.

Clearly, sites like Twitter and Linkedin are revolutionizing the manner in which we find our news and cultivate relationships with prospective clients and influencers. Over the past couple of months, however, I have found something fascinating: I can tune into these various media to find out what's most important to the leaders of both the EEOC and Department of Labor.

Stick with me here. If you took a look at the EEOC's web site lately, you'll find press release after press release trumpeting the agency's latest settlements and/or victories over employers. In fact, there are so many PRs your eyes glaze over reading through them.

Enter EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum, one of the top five officials of an agency that rigorously enforces our federal employment laws. On any given day, by following Cmmr. Feldblum on Twitter, you can find out in 140 characters or less what her and the EEOC's priorities are. This information is precious for at least two reasons: 1) it keeps us up to date on what the EEOC cares about; and 2) it helps employers (and attorneys who help employers) proactively engage our managers on ways they can and should follow the law. I am sure you can think of more.

Consider for a second Commission Feldblum's "tweets" over the past few months:

• Employee with post-partum depression needed time off as a reasonable accommodation. http://dld.bz/a9fm4
• Nice settlement with American Apparel on an ADA leave case. http://dld.bz/a84Vf Looking forward to having comprehensive guidance soon.
• Spread the word! Do individualized assessment of accommodation when employee returns from short-term disability. http://1.usa.gov/uNBcna

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