Employers Give Notice! To Limit Employee Privacy Rights In The Workplace

11.14.2018

Employers have the right to protect their assets and reputation and insure that their workers are productive and comply with corporate policies.  The law allows employers to monitor and regulate the use of workplace computers because of this legitimate interest. On the other hand, in certain circumstances courts have found that employees have a privacy interest in their social media and other e-communications.  So, what’s an employer supposed to do? 

Employers should be aware that to limit the expectation of privacy at the workplace, they must have strong policies that provide notice to employees of the specific types of communications that are not private.  This is because courts determine whether an employee had a reasonable expectation of privacy when deciding whether the employee’s privacy interests were violated by an employer.   If an employer can point to a written statement making it clear that the employee had no expectation of privacy in a particular type of communication, then the employer is much more likely to prove that the employee had no expectation of privacy therein.

Notice should be provided that the computer communications may be stored and retrieved by the employer.   The employer should tailor the notice so it identifies each specific type of computer usage that the employer intends to monitor.  For example, the notice should state that the employer is going to monitor employee visits to social networking sites, such as Facebook, from its computers, if the employer wants the ability to do so without infringing on employee privacy.  If the employer intends to monitor email from an employee’s personal internet-based account, accessed from a work computer, the employer should state so.  If that monitoring is expected to include password protected accounts, that must be clear as well. 

Employer policies should also make the when and where of employer computer monitoring clear.  This becomes particularly tricky when employees work at home from company provided laptops.   The employer policy must address the use of such laptops and provide answers to questions such as whether an employee can consider its e-communications after work hours as private.  

Takeaway: Employers must be crystal clear in their computer communications monitoring policies.

Tags: Employee PrivacyEmployee Electronic Communications

BLOG DISCLAIMER

The postings on this blog were created for general informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services.  Although we attempt to ensure that the postings are complete, accurate, and current as of the time of publication, we assume no responsibility for their completeness, accuracy, or timeliness.  The information in this blog is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship.  Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel.

This blog may contain links to independent third party websites and services, including social media. We provide these links for your convenience, and you access them at your own risk.  We have no control over and do not monitor the content or policies (including privacy policies) of these third-party websites and have no responsibility for, and no liability with respect to, their content, accuracy, or reliability.  Unless expressly stated, we do not endorse any of the linked websites or any product, service, or publication referenced herein or therein.  We will remove a link to any site from this blog upon request of the linked entity.

We grant permission to readers to link to this blog so long as this blog is not misrepresented. This site is not sponsored or associated with any other site unless so identified.

If you wish for Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A., to consider representing you, please obtain contact information from the Contact Us area of this blog or go to the firm’s website at www.wilentz.com.  One of our lawyers will be happy to discuss the possibility of representation with you. However, the authors of Wilentz blogs are licensed only in New Jersey and/or New York and do not wish to represent anyone who viewed this site in a state where the site fails to comply with all laws and ethical rules of that state.

Sign Up