And they definitely want to know if an employee is stealing client information or leaking confidential data.Ĭompany lawyers often argue that employers have undisputable rights because they own the equipment, and because they usually have policies that make it clear that messages will be monitored. They fear that co-workers could sue if they feel that company equipment is being used for sexual harassment. They want to know if a worker is wasting the company's time and money updating his Facebook status instead of updating spreadsheets. If employers are looking over someone's shoulder continuously it makes the employees less productive."Įmployers cite a wide range of reasons why they should be allowed to snoop. "It all comes out in the wash," she says, pointing out that she uses her work iPhone for personal calls, and a personal laptop for work. Yvonne Haghighatian, a business manager at a political consultancy in Austin, however, doesn't believe in such strict lines. "There's personal information I don't want work to find out about," he says, such as health and finance data, and information about his family.
"I keep a pretty clean line between work and personal stuff," says Lull, adding that he likes to make sure that his sensitive work data is kept secure, and he wants to keep his personal life private. Joseph Lull, an engineer from Detroit, says employees should never expect privacy on their work equipment. Interestingly, employees fall on both sides of the fence. But the near ubiquity of electronic communication devices, along with the growing popularity of "sexting" and other online activities that could tarnish an employer's reputation, have once again dragged the issue into the news. Before the advent of Blackberries, cellphones and even computers, workers and their bosses sparred over drugs and porn found in lockers and desk drawers. Privacy conflicts between employers and their staff are nothing new. We want our employees to be focused on our customers and clients." "In addition to being illegal in a lot of places, it can also be disruptive. "Participation in any form of gambling through the use of Fidelity time or equipment or any other company resource is prohibited," Fidelity spokesman Vin Loporchio told The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In this particular case, Pettigrew was fired because Fidelity disapproved of what it considered to be gambling. "Workers can get in trouble for forgetting that."
"The law gives most employers a great deal of freedom to monitor communications sent using work equipment in order to make sure that work they are paying for is being done," says Jonathan Ezor, a professor of law and technology at Touro Law Center in Long Island, New York. The growing number of disputes between employers and employees over cyberspace privacy has caught the attention of the Supreme Court, which decided this week to review a lawsuit between a California cop and supervisors who read his racy text messages.
The same survey found that 43 percent of employers read workers' e-mail messages and 66 percent check Web site connections. In fact, more than a quarter of companies have fired employees for misusing e-mail and one-third have fired employees for misusing the Internet, according to a survey by the American Management Association. Pettigrew, a young MBA graduate, is just one of the most recent victims to find out the hard way that employers have almost limitless rights to check personal messages sent over company computers, cell phones and PDAs. Welcome to the realities of the cyber workspace. "Let's be honest: that's a complete overreaction." "Firing a guy for being in a $20 fantasy league?" Pettigrew told the Fort Worth Star Telegram. But sending e-mails about a seemingly innocuous hobby cost one financial advisor his job when his employer tapped into his work account and read his messages.Ĭameron Pettigrew, who worked as a client relations manager at Fidelity Investments in Texas, was fired after supervisors found out he was sending messages about a fantasy football league that he ran. 17, 2009 — - You probably don't think twice about sending personal messages through your work e-mail.
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