Employee privacy and torts

Intro:

Focuses on how employee privacy started and how it is changing and evolving based on our every changing community/society and technology

I. Historical background intro to employee privacy
Roberson v. Rochester folding Box. Co
Common law right of privacy
II. Public Employee?s Privacy right
Privacy Act f 1974
Freedom of information act
III. Property searches in the public sector
O?Connor V. Ortega
IV. Private sector Employees property searches

V. Invasion of property
Confidentiality of medical records
ADA
Motor Vehicle information
Unreasonable disclosure of private facts
Intrusion on seclusion
Video surveillance
Cramer v. Consolidated freightways, inc
VI. Monitoring employee telephone conversations and email
Email monitoring
Electronic communication privacy act
Text messaging
Remote computing services
Electronic communication services
Deal V. Spears (1992)
VII. Drug Testing
Governmental testing
Patchogue Medford congress of teachers v. Board of education
Testing in the private sector
Jakubowicz v. Dittemore
Testing procedures and methods
VIII. Polygraph Examinations
EPPA of 1988
Anderson V. Philadelphia
Throne v. City of El Segundo
VIIII. Employee defamation claims
McCallum v. Lambie (1887)
Absolute and Conditional privileges
Miron v. University of New Haven Police department (2007)
Employee evaluations
Investigation of misconduct in the workforce
OSHA
X. Where we are today with social media?how doe you see employee privacy changing (reference recent cases)

This is a general outline, but may and should include other relevant topics

Employee Privacy Report

Write a 900+-word report addressing e-mail, Internet use, and privacy policies. In the report I need to answer the following questions:

o What are the e-mail use, Internet use, and privacy policies at your job?
o What are the current laws regulating employee e-mail and Internet privacy?
o Why do companies implement e-mail and Internet use policies?
o What assumptions might employees make about their privacy at work? How do these policies affect employee privacy at work?

********Please ensure the sources used are available for me to view from the internet.
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Employee Privacy Report
? Write a 750 word report addressing e-mail, Internet use, and privacy policies. Answer the following questions in your report:

o What are the e-mail use, Internet use, and privacy policies at your job?
o What are the current laws regulating employee e-mail and Internet privacy?
o Why do companies implement e-mail and Internet use policies?
o What assumptions might employees make about their privacy at work? How do these policies affect employee privacy at work?

Privacy Legislation and Surveillance Software
Discuss the issues relating to workplace privacy. What steps are to be implemented to maintain a healthy balance between employee privacy and organizational concerns? Provide examples from difference companies.

At least 2 pages
Arial 12pt font
Double spaced
Chicago manual
2 credible outside sources (ex. business week)
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Privacy is a major concern with respect to E-Business and the business of privacy is big business as well. Visit the website of one company, Vericept, whose "mission is to be the leading global provider of Information Protection and Misuse Prevention Solutions." You can also view press releases at http://www.vericept.com/news/events.asp. Futher, you can do a web-based search on the subject of employee privacy, to help with this assignment. Write a one-page paper explaining the pro's and con's with regard to employee privacy concerns balanced with an employer's competing concerns for productive employees. Argue your point of view using a Utilitarian approach and then using a Kantian approach to the value of privacy.

Focus on how employee privacy started and how it is changing and evolving based on our every changing community/society and technology

history of employee privacy...how it came about and its significance
Electronic communication privacy act
Monitoring employee telephone conversations and email
laws and employer policies around Text messaging and social media

Where we are today with social media and employee privacy?how do you see employee privacy changing.

How are companies adapting to the new environment? Essentially how are the companies creating policies in this new environment?

What would you recommend a company be aware of when creating a policy regarding Facebook/twitter and/or the use of the internet, emails etc to make sure they do not run afoul of the law.

What will employee privacy look like in the future?

Please only use academic sources and peer reviewed articles...please make sure the discussion is thorough and detailed.

Discuss the Deal v. Spears (the following federal case), the court decision, the significance of the case and if there has been any significant progress on the of employee privacy since the court decision. The paper should be 2 3 double space typewritten pages (exclusive of the reference page). Use a minimum of 1 source (citation APA style).

I will email the court decision in the form of a RTF file.

What are the email use, Internet use, and privacy polices at Fedex?

What are the current laws regulating employee e-mail and Internet privacy, both federal and mass?

Why do companies implement e-mail and Internet policies?

What assumptions might employees make about their privacy at work? How do these polices affect employee privacy at work?

REQUEST WRITER: MORIKS58

Before starting this assignment, be sure that you are familiar with the following laws and their amendments:

Polygraph Protection Act (Click on the link for a brief overview.)

Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification Act (Click on the link for a brief overview.)

Privacy laws (Click on the link for a very brief overview of employee privacy and employment law.)

Drug Testing laws (Click on the link for a brief overview.)

OSHA (Click on the link for a brief overview.)

Integrate your responses to the following as you prepare your paper:

You have a friend in California who has just lost his job in a layoff along with 98 other employees in the same private sector company. Company administrators told him that he was included in this most recent layoff because he refused to take a lie detector test concerning some drugs that were found in his company locker. He also refused to take a drug test because he was afraid that a false positive would result in the state child protection agency taking away custody of his children. Discuss the legal ramifications of this situation.

In your paper, discuss how the Polygraph Protection Act or Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification Act, or any privacy laws, safety laws, or state drug testing law(s) may or may not apply.

Bring in at least 2 library sources plus any applicable background readings to help strengthen your discussion.


SLP Assignment Expectations:
Demonstrate critical thinking and analysis of the relevant issues and HRM actions, drawing on your background reading and research.

Information Literacy: Evaluate resources and select only library/Web-based resources that provide reliable, substantiated information.

Give authors credit for their work. Cite sources of borrowed information in the body of your text as footnotes or numbered end notes, or use APA style of referencing.

Prepare a paper that is professionally presented (including a cover page, a list of references headings/subheadings, and a strong introduction and conclusion). Proofread carefully for grammar, spelling and word-usage errors.

3. Individual Assignment: Employee Privacy Memos

Select three scenarios from the following list:

o Situation 1: A recent report from the stores loss prevention director identifies that losses have increased by 10%, but actual customer traffic has remained steady, and, on a few days, decreased slightly. Store management is concerned with employee theft. A number of the women in the store carry large handbags that can easily conceal merchandise. The store also employs both male and female students who bring their backpacks, which is another way employees can remove merchandise without detection. The store director has decided that all female employees are required to carry their personal items in a company-issued clear vinyl bag.

o Situation 2: The CEO read in recent business news that the average time employees spend working is 6.5 hours. The report identified personal e-mail use, online browsing, and phone calls as primary sources for detractors from work time. The CEO now wants e-mails and phones calls to be monitored, not for quality control, but to discover work-related violations and abuse.

o Situation 3: Your organization has just merged with another company. The state in which the main office is located does not have a concealed gun law. One of the new locations has a concealed gun law. The company banned firearms and weapons of any kind from the property, which includes the parking lot. You are concerned that employees may leave firearms and weapons locked in their cars now that guns are prohibited from the physical premises. The CEO wants random searches of cars.

o Situation 4: With health care costs rising, some organizations are using genetic testing in the preemployment, postoffer medical exams. The organizations claim the tests are for employee safety (employees with a specific illness may be affected by the chemicals produced during product production); in reality, some of the organizations are attempting to reduce their risk of incurring higher health care premiums by avoiding individuals with potential health issues. The executive team at your organization is considering a similar action.

o Situation 5: An organization provides lockers for employees to store personal items securely. The employees are required to provide their own personal lock. The company, as part of their risk management program, wants to begin random and regular searches of the lockers.

o Situation 6: The board of directors and CEO are filling some vacancies on the executive team. As part of the executive perks, the organization provides comprehensive insurance, which requires a medical history.

o Situation 7: The organization has done drug testing for some time; however, they want to switch to a method that detects past use. Some say that a hair follicle test can detect drug use up to three months prior. Some employees became aware of this through the company grapevine and threatened to shave their heads. Your CEO suggested requiring blood tests from those who did not provide a hair follicle.

o Situation 8: Through a postoffer, preemployment physical exam, the employee is noted to have a health issue that is not inhibiting the person from performing the essential functions of the job, but could raise the organizations insurance premium.

o Situation 9: An employee is injured while on the job. The employee is up for a promotion in another area of the company. The supervisor wants all the information related to the injury.

o Situation 10: The supervisor comes to your office and wants to see the employees file. You provide the supervisor the file. The supervisor asks for the results from the drug test, the medical follow-up for the work-related injury a year ago, and the employees legal right to work in the United States.

Write a 300-word memorandum for each selected scenario in which you clearly state the challenge and risk to the organization, the laws that govern the situation, and a course of action to ensure compliance. For each situation, select a different audience for your memo from the following list:

o Employee
o Executive leadership
o Management

Part 1 - Annotated Bibliography (1 page)
Please create annotated bibliography from the attached articles.

Part 2 - Reflective Diary - Regulating Internet Privacy (2 pages minimum)

Please create record of reflections about experiences, attitudes, opinions, and feelings in relation to the information technology (IT) and cyber ethics. Provide thoughts, feelings, ideas, and emotions.

Please use attached articles and consider these ideas in regards of Regulating Internet Privacy :
The impact of Internet privacy issues and the regulations that are currently being used to limit exposure throughout the cyber world.
The theory of privacy and the impact on personal and consumer information available on the Internet as well as privacy rights and protections used in the U.S. and Europe.
The impact of workplace privacy and the balance between employee privacy and employer information protection.

Thank you
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Write a persuasive essay, using the steps in the writing process: planning, drafting, developing, revising, editing, and proofreading. For this essay your topic is:

? Employee Privacy Rights in the Workplace

Final Project:

Your Final Persuasive Essay should be 1,400-1,500 words in length, formatted according to APA guidelines, and contain the following elements:
a. An introduction and a thesis statement
b. A body with supporting evidence and in-text citations
c. A conclusion
d. A reference list with at least two sources, one of which should come from the University Online Library



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MUST USE APA CITATION METHOD.

CAN ONLY USE THE FOLLOWING BOOK AS A REFRENCE:
Shaw, W. H. & Barry, V. (2007). Moral issues in business. (10th ed.). USA: Thomson Wadsworth

Discuss each of the questions thoroughly and defend your answer using the ethical theories that are the cornerstones of the course. Cite all sources using the APA. In developing your original assignment, answer each of the questions individually and post the question on your assignment.

Address the following questions in the original assignment:
Is drug testing an unwarranted invasion of employee privacy?
Which is more important--getting drugs out of the workplace or protecting the privacy of the employee?
What about other health-threatening activities, i.e. smoking outside of working hours, unprotected sex, etc?
Should employers be allowed to use polygraph tests to "screen" out potentially costly employees who may engage in any of these activities?

ETHICAL THEORIES ARE AS FOLLOWS.

Kant:

This theory is the easiest to describe and the hardest to use or justify in a course devoted to Business Ethics. Kant states that an action is right and ethical if it is accordance with a moral rule or principle that is required by rationality and could be adopted as universal law, what is called the categorical imperative. How do you determine what is rational or what is a categorical imperative? You must look at moral obligations, not consequences, and do what is necessary to treat people as the prime objective rather than means to an end.

The plus is that you are looking to do what is right and don't we all know that some actions are just right, and some are just wrong.

The minus is that this theory is very hard to use in the business world because as a business person (or someone enrolled in Business Ethics) you are always looking at consequences and that necessarily makes you something other than a Kantian. How do you determine if something is moral or ethical or not? You look at the consequences of that action. If the consequences are bad, then it is not ethical. How do you determine if the consequences are bad? You either determine that the consequences are bad for you (egoism), infringe on liberty (libertarianism), promote more bad than good results (utilitarianism) or are not something you would chance given all the odds (Rawls). And if you are going to use those standards to determine if an action is ethical, then you aren't really a Kantian and are in fact an egoist, libertarian, utilitarian or Rawlsian.

Egoism:

This theory looks at an action in light of tis consequences for only one entity, the person deciding whether an action is ethical. In other words, if an action is good for me, then it is ethical. The plus of that theory is that it is easy to apply--you need only look at a proposed action, figure out the consequences for you and if they are good then the action is ethical. The minus of the theory is that it obviously leads to many conclusions that most would agree are not ethical. Suppose you have a baby food plant and have some rotten fruit If it would be economically feasible to use that fruit (amount in profits vs. amount in lawsuits and lost public relations) then it would be absolutely ethical to use that fruit. Apply that example to out of date medications in the third world and you can see that it might be hard to make a straight-faced argument that this theory promotes what most think of as ethical outcomes.

Libertarianism:

This theory is a little more nuanced. You are still looking at only one aspect of the situation and that is how it upholds or promotes liberty, but you need to look at how the action upholds or promotes liberty for all those who might have rights. This theory looks at whether an action violates anyone's' liberty and liberty is defined as the right to property you have legally acquired and the right to be free from the unwanted or unagreed-to interference of others with your liberty. You can agree to have your rights or liberty violated if you do so with complete knowledge of the consequences of your agreement. In the baby food example above, the owner of the baby food plant has the right to use the rotten fruit since he acquired it legally. However, he can sell the baby food only if the people buying it understand that it was made from rotten fruit and understand the consequences. If he sold it without telling them, then that would be violating their rights. But if he tells them and gives them complete information, then that is their right. If they want to chance illness for perhaps a lesser price, then that is their right. If people disagree with that and think it is not ethical, then they won't buy it and the plant owner will go out of business or stop selling rotten baby food--the marketplace will decide.

The plus of this theory is that it allows people to exercise free will--actions are ethical if they do not interfere with my rights and I don't interfere with your rights. If I decide to save money and buy bad baby food, what is it to you? Of course, we are ignoring in this case the baby's rights but that is a whole separate issue of children's and parental rights.

The minuses of this theory are one (1) the definition of rights and (2) the complete knowledge requirement. Under libertarian theory, you have the right to what you own legally and don't have rights in many things that we traditionally think of as "rights." For example, while in our society we talk about the right to a job or a right to go in a commercial establishment, under libertarian theory you don't have those rights. The employer has the right to hire or fire since it is his business and his salary to give out. The property owner has the right to set whatever rules he wants to run his property. Theory is that if society does not like what the employer or property owner is doing, they will not support that business or property and the employer or owner will have to change to keep his business. The second problem is the complete knowledge problem--easy enough with rotten fruit if you tell the buyer and indicate that the food could cause intestinal upset, etc. or smoking when you post a sign saying second hand smoke can cause cancer. But how complete can the knowledge be when you are dealing with complicated subjects such as drugs, pesticides, etc. and people who might not be educated?

Utilitarianism:

This theory is one of the easier to apply (in theory!). Basically, an action is ethical if it promotes the most happiness for those affected. The most happiness is not only calculated by determining how many people benefit and how many hurt but also how much they are helped or hurt. Thus, an action that minimally benefitted 10 will not be ethical if it severely hurts 5 people although it would be ethical if it minimally hurts 5 people. This becomes a little more nuanced when you consider the difference between rule utilitarianism (consider the effects of a general rule )and act utilitarianism (consider the effects of each individual act).

The plus of this theory is that it allows you to come up with a fairly simple equation that is determined by the number of people and the extent of the effect.

The minus is coming up with that equation--how to you assign units of happiness to actions? How unhappy are people forced to go outside to smoke? How happy are those who are not subject to second hand smoke? Obviously, there is an element of subjectiveness to this determination and if you choose to apply this theory, it will be up to you to argue that one side outweighs the other. The other minus might arise in the application of the theory after you have done all the calculations. As a practical matter, are there are any absolutes? Is murder okay if it would save the lives of millions (the Hitler/Idi Amin example)? How about if it would save thousands? Hundreds? It is up to you where to draw that line and in writing a persuasive paper, it is up to you to make that plausible argument.

Rawlsianism:

This is a theory that usually causes some confusion because Rawls is usally used to justify political, social situations rather than the business situations that we are going to deal with in this course. For political/social/economic situation, then Rawls theory of justice and its principles of liberties and inequalities are most useful. However, in the business context, your arguments are much more easily formed and defended if you remember two phrases--the original position and the veil of ignorance. When deciding whether an action is ethical, you must put yourself in the original position, behind the veil of ignorance, where you retain all your knowledge of the world, situations, consequences, etc. EXCEPT you don't know your place in that world. In other words, you know that bad baby food causes illness, that there would be a public relations fallout, etc. but you don't know if you are the company owner, the parent of a baby that got sick from buying the cheaper food or the parent of a baby that did not sick and who benefitted from saving money in buying that cheaper food. Would you think a action ethical if you did not know if you personally would be helped or hurt by the action? How do you make that calculation? First, you must identify the people who would benefit or be hurt by a proposed action, and then figure out your odds of being one of those people. In our baby food example, your chances of being the owner are pretty slim--that is only one person. But assuming most kids would get sick, your chances of being the person with the sick kid are pretty good. Then, just as in utilitarianism you must figure out the extent of the benefit or harm. As the owner, you might have a monetary benefit but again your chances of being that owner are slim. As the parent, your harm is potentially great (botulism, etc.) and your chances of being that parent is substantial. When you weigh all the odds, you probably are not going to want to take the chance of being that parent and you would decide that selling that baby food is not ethical.

The pluses and minuses of this theory are the same as util.--and that makes sense. Rawls designed this theory to be "utilitarianism with a heart", to take the pure numerical calculation out of the system .

Dear writer,
This is chapter 7 of my thesis and it is very important chapter. The chapter title is

the impact of telecommunications interception and access on privacy right and cost is an obstacle to implement telecommunications interception and access law. Please if you find that the title need change do it in the correct way.

This chapter should be four parts

The first part is descriptive about definition of privacy and telecommunication privacy in general. 2000 word

The second part is impact of telecommunications interception and access law on privacy and it supposed to be more of a "compare and contrast" analysis about the impact of telecommunications interception on privacy right and human right. And it must contain legislation and case law from Australia, UK and USA. 4000 word

Third part about interception in work (Business) and how is the interception and access to telecommunication impact on employee privacy at work. 2000 word

Forth part is about the cost and Cost is an obstacle facing developing countries when preparing a draft law on telecommunication interception and access, and often prompts them to cancel the draft of the law. The cost of the installation of monitoring rooms and rental of the communications lines to the monitoring centres are high. It is supposed to be compare and contrast" analysis between Australia, UK and USA. Kindly find more articles from peer reviewed journals 2000 word

Please according to above information build the content of this chapter. Also after they accept my order I will upload recourses. If there is any question please send me massage

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TOPIC OF THE PAPER
You as an employer are going to set up an IT policy for your company. The policy has to address these issues:
1. Installation of pirated software on company-owned PCs/laptops;
2. Monitoring of employee land-line phone calls, emails and web access;
3. Use of filters to block some websites and disabling of programs for chatting and voice-over-IP; and
4. Use of personal mobile phones during office hours.
Write a term paper of this format: double-spaced, one inch margin, and 12 pt Times New Roman font.

FORMAT OF THE PAPER:

(1) Section I. Introduction: introduce todays issues related to employee privacy at work.
(2) Section II. Proponents of all four items in the IT policy: In this section, argue why companies and employers have the right to place such a policy in place. Give at least two specific examples for each item.
(3) Section III. Opponents of all four items in the IT policy: In this section, argue why companies and employers do not have the right to place such a policy in place. Give at least two specific examples for each item.
(4) Section IV. Evaluation: In this section, you will create a table that puts the opponents and proponents views and arguments side by side, attempt to weigh them and judge which ones are valid and which ones are invalid, possibly weighing these arguments.
Use a scale of 10 (for strongly support or agree with) down to 0 (for strongly oppose or disagree with). Discuss your weighing and judgment.
Also, for each one of the 5 above monitoring activities, discuss if employers have the right to conduct these activities always / never/ or under specific conditions (list and discuss these conditions, if you choose under specific conditions).
(5) Section V. Conclusion: In this section, you will make a final decision as to which view (proponent or opponent) you side with and explain why.
(6) References

Persuasive research paper, no .com sites. Must be an english as first languagge writer. (Have used Writers

Need Abstract page...all APA requirements.

this is based on The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. Since 1988, drug testing in the workplace has become a means for federal agencies and contractors to certify that their workplaces are drug free. A number of state, municipal, and private-sector employers have followed suit, also implementing drug testing programs. Yet, drug testing in the workplace remains controversial, particularly mandatory drug testing. Are drug tests accurate, reliable, and necessary? Is mandatory drug testing a violation of employee privacy.....

Please let me know if this is not going to be doable..

Assignment: This is a group discussion assignment. Please discuss the following on EACH topic.I MUST give a example of why I used the theory to defend the answered question. Don't use large vocbulary.The theory to use will be Utilitarianism. Listed below is the theorys meaning.

Assignment question for discussion:
Is drug testing an unwarranted invasion of employee privacy? Which is more important--getting drugs out of the workplace or protecting the privacy of the employee? What about other health-threatening activities, i.e. smoking outside of working hours, unprotected sex, etc. Should employers be allowed to use polygraph tests to "screen" out potentially costly employees who may engage in any of these activities? Discuss thoroughly and defend your answer using the theories that are the cornerstones ofthe course.

Utilitarianism:

This theory is one of the easier to apply (in theory!). Basically, an action is ethical if it promotes the most happiness for those affected. The most happiness is not only calculated by determining how many people benefit and how many hurt but also how much they are helped or hurt. Thus, an action that minimally benefitted 10 will not be ethical if it severely hurts 5 people although it would be ethical if it minimally hurts 5 people. This becomes a little more nuanced when you consider the difference between rule utilitarianism (consider the effects of a general rule )and act utilitarianism (consider the effects of each individual act).

The plus of this theory is that it allows you to come up with a fairly simple equation that is determined by the number of people and the extent of the effect.

The minus is coming up with that equation--how to you assign units of happiness to actions? How unhappy are people forced to go outside to smoke? How happy are those who are not subject to second hand smoke? Obviously, there is an element of subjectiveness to this determination and if you choose to apply this theory, it will be up to you to argue that one side outweighs the other. The other minus might arise in the application of the theory after you have done all the calculations. As a practical matter, are there are any absolutes? Is murder okay if it would save the lives of millions (the Hitler/Idi Amin example)? How about if it would save thousands? Hundreds? It is up to you where to draw that line and in writing a persuasive paper, it is up to you to make that plausible argument.

Read Case 7.2 in your textbook, "She Snoops To Conquer."

For purposes of the questions that follow, suppose the chief of security in the case, Matt Katwalski, is a fraud examiner contracted to investigate the loss.

Respond to the following questions based on the information presented in Case 7.2, the other unit readings, and the introduction of the fraud examiner.

Do employees have a right not to be spied upon? If you were an employee at Fanuchis store, would you think that your privacy had been unjustly invaded?
If you were the fraud examiner in this case, what modifications to the surveillance would you have made in order to avoid privacy issues?
Which moral theory would the investigators be able to use to justify their invasion of the employees privacy to end the theft?
What would a utilitarian theorist have to say about the investigation?

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Directions- Read the 4 cases. In each of the 4 cases make and justify a moral decision whether the social costs and benefits (utilitarianism) are significant enough to justify the infringements on rights. (2 pages) Separate about a page a case, it doesn?t have to all be one flowing paper, divide it up into 4 divisions where you talk about the issues for that particular case

**You may want to define Utilitarianism and Rights

****Cases****
Case 1- Dating at Wal-Mart

The company?s position is crystal-clear: ?Wal-Mart strongly believes and supports the ?family unit.?? For this reason, the handbook that all newly hired employees must read and sign stipulates, ?A dating relationship between a married associate with another associate is prohibited.? This policy was designed in part to maintain businesslike relations among employees and to avoid turmoil that extramarital affairs can cause in the workplace. An added, and perhaps not unintended, benefit of the policy is to reinforce the wholesome, down-home image that Wal-Mart carefully fosters. The policy was challenged, however, when the manager of a Wal-Mart store in Johnstown, New York, discovered that two sales associates-one a twenty-year-old single man and the other a twenty-three-year old woman who was married but separated from her husband-were dating. The romantic tie between the two came to the manager?s attention when the woman was swerved with custody papers at the store. The manager immediately fired them both. The woman could not remember reading the no-dating rule in the handbook but expressed her disagreement nonetheless. ?I felt it was my personal life,? she said.

Case 2- Is email private?

A reporter in the Moscow bureau of the Los Angeles Times guessed the passwords of his colleagues and read their email, thereby gaining an advantage in office politics. He was disciplined. Two women who worked for Nissan, training dealers in the use of the company?s email system. Were fired after their supervisor overrode the passwords and read exchanges with the dealers they were training. The messages contained some sexually suggestive banter along with comments by the women disparaging the supervisor?s own sexual prowess. Did the reporter of the supervisor do anything unethical? A letter sent to a colleague by U.S. mail would be considered private, as would (perhaps) a sealed envelope delivered through a company?s own mail system. Email messages are accessible only with a password known to the user, so they are also like letters stored in a locked desk drawer. The desk may belong to the company but not the contents. On the other hand, email messages are also like notes posted on a company-owned bulletin board, because the technology is provided to the employee. Employers claim a right to monitor employee?s messages to ensure that the system is not being misuse. Company computers have been used to arrange durg dels, to operate office betting pools, and to engage in racial and sexual harassment. Some privacy experts contened that employers have a right to read employee?s email if they announce the policy in advance; others believe that reading electronic messages is always wrong, even if employees are put on notice.

Case 3- Video Surveillance

In September 1997, an employee at the Consolidated Freightways truck terminal in Riverside County, California, noticed that the mirror above a sink in the men?s rest room was askew. When he went to adjust it, he came across a hidden video camera. A check by the local sheriffs office, which was called to investigate, uncovered hidden cameras in two of nine rest rooms and several recorded videotapes. A company representative explained that the cameras were aimed only at areas where drug dealing was suspected of taking place and that they were focused ?nowhere near the urinals or the stall area.? California state law forbids surveillance in areas where people have a ?reasonable expectation? of privacy, and many of the 600 employees in the facility were outraged by the company?s tactics. The company argued that it has a responsibility to protect the public, as well as its own employees and customers? freight, against the dangers of drug use by drivers. A suspected love tryst was the reason given for the installation of a video camera in a women?s locker room at an Amoco chemical laboratory in Illinois.4S In response to complaints that a male supervisor and female worker were leaving their workstations to be together in the locker room, Amoco managers installed a hidden camera in the ceiling, trained on the door. After the existence of the camera was discovered, eight female employees, who would have been observed entering and leaving the locker room to change clothes, filed a lawsuit charging an invasion of privacy. The locker room was also used occasionally by visitors who needed to change clothes, and a female electrician, who was not an employee but who worked at the Laboratory during the period of the surveillance, joined the women?s suit.

Case 4-Ford Meter Box

In 1989, the Ford Meter Box Company adopted a policy of hiring only nonsmokers. Smoking had already been banned on the job by the Wabash, Indiana, manufacturer, but employees hired prior to the date of the policy?s adoption were permitted to continue smoking away from the plant on their own time. However, newly hired employees were told that they could not smoke at all?anyplace, anytime. Janice Bone, a part-time clerk and a smoker, refrained from smoking at work and was unaffected by the new hiring policy. .. until she applied for a vacant full- time position. The job change would make her a ?new hire,? subject to the policy. To get the job she would have to give up smoking entirely. Janice Bone agreed to quit and got the job, but a drug test, routinely administered to all new employees after six weeks of service, revealed the presence of nicotine. Subsequently, Ford Meter Box terminated her employment.
Ford Meter Box is not alone in adopting a policy to hire only nonsmokers. An estimated 20 percent of employers give some preference to nonsmoking applicants, 49 and many provide some inducements for employees to stop smoking or impose penalties on those who continue to smoke. Turner Broadcasting is perhaps the best-known company that refuses to hire smokers, although previously hired smokers are permitted to smoke at work in designated areas. Employers? interest in their employees? smoking habits stem largely from the extra Cost that smoking imposes. A study by Texas Instruments, Inc., found that the cost of a smoker?s health care was 50 percent greater than that of a nonsmoker, and a study by Du Pont in the late 1980s showed that smokers cost the company an additional $960 each in medical bills and days lost from work. Instead of forbidding employees to smoke, however, Texas Instruments charges employees an extra $10 a month in their health insurance premiums for each family member, including the employee, who smokes.
Critics of smoking bans and extra charges worry that employers will soon turn their attention to other unhealthy lifestyles and attempt to regulate employees? weight or alcohol consumption and dangerous hobbies, such as mountain climbing or bungee jumping. Employers? options are being limited, however, by state laws that protect employees in their pursuit of legal, off-duty activities. The new laws have been promoted by an unusual alliance between the tobacco industry lobby and the American Civil Liberties Union, each of which claims to be protecting employees? privacy and ?right to choose.?



****NOTES****

Utilitarianism = considering consequences for all
Rights = treat all people as ends and never as a means only

Corporate Social Responsibility

The Classical Model of Corporate Social Responsibility
The role of business management is to maximize profits within the law
Milton Freidman
Ethical foundation based on utilitarianism and individual rights to freedom and property (believes that this maximizes happiness because consumers get what they want; and business is private property
Business People aren?t trained to be making these kinds of ethical moral decisions that?s why they?re now giving business classes an ethics course, because big businesses have a large role in society
Critical Assessment of the Classical Model
The Utilitarian Defense- Is the free market an adequate means to our ends, and are the ends ethically appropriate
Market Failure:Externalities and public goods sometimes need regulation (pollution and fishing are examples)
Law as an answer: first generation problem; inappropriate influence; business shapes public opinion
The Rights Defense
Property rights are not absolute (example zoning laws for real estate)
Corporate property rights differ from personal property. Owners vs. Investors. Less owners than customers.
Some peoples rights trump others
Social Contract Theory
Corporate Rights and responsibilities can be inferred from the terms and conditions of an imaginary contract between business and society
A heuristic device: Are corporations best understood on a model of private property managed on behalf of individual owners(the classical model) or as a social creation organized to serve a variety of social goals(the social contract model)?
Stakeholder Theory
The business should be managed for the benefit of stakeholders
Stakeholder:
Any group who are vital to the survival and success of the corporation
Any group or individual who can affect or be affected by a corporation
*This is both Rights and Utilitarian based
*This doesn?t say you have to listen to everybody just at least listen to them to see if you can make some happy

This week your assignment is to write a 1 1/2 - 2 page paper in response to the following problem:

You are the manager of a department and you think many hours are being lost at work because people are using their office computers for personal matters during business hours. The head of IT can install spyware on every computer in your department to monitor what each employee does. The two company VP's give you conflicting advice, however. One tells you that you should install the software so that the company does not waste productivity, but the other advises that respect for employees' privacy is an important ideal, and should be respected over productivity. The VP's tell you that they will support whatever decision you make. What are the ethical considerations involved in this decision?

First, distinguish the deontological and utilitarian ethical points of view, describing how they are different from each other and explaining their key characteristics. Then analyze how these two ethical positions would consider the above scenario. Would each framework lead to the same decision or a different one?

Finally, what would you decide and why? Make sure you refer to some ethical position in your answer.

The paper should be written in your own words and address all of the indicated questions. You will be graded on your demonstrated understanding of course material and your organization and grammar. Please follow APA guidelines for the title page and other elements of the paper.

Employee Handbook Privacy Section
Prepare an 875 word section of an employee handbook addressing the issue of privacy in the global workplace. Utilize these questions in drafting this handbook section:
a. What privacy rights issues should be addressed?
b. What should the company?s position be in response to privacy rights issues?
c. How will your privacy protections limit the company?s liability?

Employee Internet Abuse:

Please write about future issues given the argument that employees should be given free use of the Internet and privacy and the employee should be given and (guaranteed) security and productivity.

Read: Deal V. Spears United states Court Of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 980 F. 2D 1153 (1992)
Can be found in Chapter 17 of Twomey Labor and Employment law 15th edition. Pg 650
Read the case write a brief summary and answer the case questions.

Provide a summary of the case and answer the case questions. The case summary should be thorough and demonstrate knowledge of the case facts and history. Answers to the questions must reference the facts and legal analysis from the case, and are required to conform to the APA Manual, 6th edition.

The case summary should analyze the following issues: the relationship between the parties involved in the case; the lower court decision(s); a short summary of the relevant facts and why the actions of each party resulted a lawsuit; a statement of the relevant law the appellate court discussed; the legal issue(s) that were decided; the reasoning used by the court when deciding the legal issues; and, your analysis of the decision.


Read the case and Answer the 3 questions may use sub headers for each question:
1. It is not unlawful to monitor the telephone conversation of an employee if the employee has given prior consent. Did Deal give her employer consent in this case?
2. Because of the recent burglary of the store, did the employer have a legitimate business reason to record and review the employee?s phone calls made or received while at work?
3. Under the Watkins precedent, what is the extent to which an employer can monitor personal phone calls to employees within the ordinary course of business exemption of the federal wiretapping law?

Course: Employment Law for Business

Topic: Avoid liability for invasion of privacy

Essay Question:
List and discuss different ways employers can avoid liability for invasion of privacy.

Essay needs to be at least 350 words in length in an APA format.

There must be at least one in-text citation in the essay.

2 references; the textbook is one reference.

Book Reference
Bennett-Alexander, D. D., & Hartman, L. P. (2009). Employment law for business (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Chapter 13

Argument

Length: 2,000 words

Task

Construct an argument for or against the notion that an individual's privacy is more important than any other consideration in the workplace, Use ethical theory to support your position.

Rationale

This task is designed to allow you to:

demonstrate your capacity to understand and evaluate our right to privacy;
demonstrate your understanding of issues that encroach on an individual's privacy in the workplace;
demonstrate your ability to construct a compelling argument that is logically consistent and is supported by ethical theory;