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| Employee Handbook |
| Handbook Privacy Policies: This conversation may be recorded… |
So, this whole Monica Lewinsky/Linda Tripp thing has you in a quandary. Next time you confide in a friend or a co-worker, should you resist the urge to ask to check her bags for recording devices?
When a subordinate asks you for advice about how to deal with a difficult co-worker, should you first demand a strip search? If you intend to e-mail a message to your sister-in-law about a difficult employee, will you risk being sued?
According to one publication, a State Department security expert told a class of officers more than thirty years ago to "assume everything you say into a telephone, or tell anyone else will be recorded." That may yet be good advice.
The invention of e-mail makes it even more likely that conversations or correspondence you assumed were "private" might be available for others' scrutiny, particularly in the workplace.
Use care in your conversations
Federal law does not protect private conversations, and only a few states require the consent of all parties being taped. (In other words, as long as the party doing the taping “consents,” the recording may be legal). A specifically worded statement in your employee handbook that prohibits recording, or even having recording devices on the premises, should help discourage employees from recording your conversations.
However, an employee’s failure to obey the policy merely gives you grounds to dismiss them. It will not protect you from the ramifications of use of the recording if the taped material leads to civil or criminal action.
"Don't get 'Tripped' Up: Are your 'Private Conversations Being Recorded as you Speak?
Staffing Decisions.
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