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| Employee Handbook |
| There's No Such Thing as Private E-mail: Protect yourself with written policies |
As with any new technology, laws governing the use of e-mail, and your rights as an employer are still being debated. Presently, the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act allows an employer to monitor any e-mail that is stored on the employer’s system. The rules get more complicated if the employee bought his own computer or uses a password he has not voluntarily shared with his employer.
On the other side of the coin, you ought to make it company policy that everyone becomes wary about hitting the “send” button. Consider the ramifications if an employee mistakenly sends correspondence to the wrong address. What would happen if copies of a confidential message were relayed to others, whether by design or by mistake?
Your employee handbook should be clear about your e-mail policies. Are there penalties for employees who send or receive pornographic, racially derogatory, or sexually harassing messages? Be sure to include a statement that warns that transmitting confidential company information is grounds for immediate dismissal. The handbook should also outline other disciplinary consequences.
The changing nature of technology and the potential for harassment claims, infringement of privacy claims, and other litigation would suggest that where privacy is concerned, you need to know the “right stuff.” That’s why you hired us. Contact our Risk Management Team immediately if you have any concerns about your existing company policies.
- Protect yourself with written policies: “Even if you are sending a message to someone you trust, the technological nature of e-mail is that once it’s out there, it’s out there,” -Abbie Lundberg, editor in chief of CIO Magazine.
Braddock, Paige "E-mail gone awry: Think before you hit the 'send' key." Cox News Service
Deseret News.
Ciotti, Karen and Ashton Cumberbatch. "Balancing Act: Weighing Employee Privacy Against the Employer's Right to Know."
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