Employee Privacy
The objective of this study is to read the case Deal V. Spears United States Court Of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 980 F. 2D 1153 (1992) and to answer the questions of whether it is lawful to monitor the telephone conversation of an employee if the employee has given prior consent and to answer if in this case whether Deal give her employer consent in this case? This study will additionally examine whether due to the recent burglary of the store, whether the employer had a legitimate business reason to record and review the employee's phone calls made or received at work. Finally, this study will consider what, under the Watkins precedent, 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 where is no evidence of express consent here.

Background

The basis of the complaint…...

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References

Deal V. Spears United States Court Of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 980 F. 2D 1153 (1992)

Employee Privacy Torts
Issues relating to employee privacy have been at the forefront of businesses for many years. This has been fuelled by the dynamic workplace which changes constantly and also by employees and employers being more litigation-conscious. Technology has also spurred on employee privacy issues with e-mail and the internet being related to heightened concerns about vulnerability of employers to litigation. Many employers have thus exacerbated their concerns relating to employee privacy and especially monitoring of employee behavior. Employee privacy is respected in many of the large corporations. However, there still exist some breaches in employee privacy. Small business owners are at most risk as a result of their increased monitoring practices and close employer-employee interaction.

Historical background

oberson v. ochester Folding Box Company

One of the major cases that brought employee privacy to the limelight was oberson v. ochester Folding Box Company

Franklin Mills Co. decided to appeal the decision. The appellate found…...

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References

Anderson v. City of Philadelphia, 845 F. 2d 1216 (1988).

Borse v. Piece Goods Shop, 963 F.2d 611 (1991).

Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1988).

City of Ontario v. Quon, 130 S.Ct. 2619, 560 U.S. (2010).

Employee Privacy Torts
History of Employee Privacy

Changing Trends of Employee Privacy

Impact of Innovative Technology on Employee Privacy

ole of Social Media towards Employee Privacy

Impact of Changing Community/Society on Employee Privacy

Adaptation to the new Environment pertaining to Employee Privacy

Employee Monitoring and Surveillance

Laws and Employer Policies for Text Messaging and Social Media

Electronic Communication Privacy Act

Monitoring of Employee Conversations over Telephone & Email

ecommendations for creating Effective Policies

Future Implications of Employee Privacy

As years have passed and the human race has penetrated into the epoch of twenty first century, the technological advancements have conquered almost every facet of human life, especially the workplace. The widespread platform of the internet has become the integral part of a person's life, in the same manner as businesses are employing technological advancements to perform numerous activities like internet infrastructure, maintenance of computers and so on. It means that the human race is residing in a magnificent era where the flow of…...

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References

Baker, D., Buoni, N., Fee, M. & Vitale, C. (2011). Social Networking and Its Effects on Companies and Their Employees. Retrieved from:  http://www.neumann.edu/academics/divisions/business/journal/Review2011/SocialNetworking.pdf 

Bergh, N.V.D. (2000). Emerging Trends for Eaps in the 21st Century. Haworth Press, Incorporated.

Campbell, D. (2007). The Internet 2007: Laws and Regulatory Regimes. USA: Lulu.com.

Cate, F.H. (1997). Privacy in the Information Age. USA: Brookings Institution Press.

This will prevent visitation to illicit websites such as pornographic and gambling websites; prevent usage of ecommerce sites such as Amazon or Ebay; or to prevent the use of general recreational or social sites such as Facebook and Myspace. Other companies may elect, with all legal protection, to prevent any web navigation beyond those sites which are essential to conducting business.
hy do companies implement e-mail and Internet use policies?

Most companies determine to use such monitoring policies based on the calculated view that the loss of privacy will promote greater workplace efficiency by discouraging inappropriate use of company resources and time. Among the reasons supplied for using email and web-use monitoring, the text by iBrief (2001) offers the needs to preserve the company's professional reputation, the maintenance of employee productivity, preventing sexual harassment or cyberstalking, preventing defamation, preventing illegal company disclosure and preventing copyright infringement. (iBrief, 1)

hat assumptions might employees…...

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Works Cited:

iBrief. (2001) Monitoring Employee E-Mail: Efficient Workplaces Vs. Employee Privacy. Duke L. & Technology Review, 26.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC). (2009). Fact Sheet 7: Workplace Privacy and Employee Monitoring. Privacy Rights.org. Online at  http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs7-work.htm

Employers may unequivocally monitor any message that utilizes company-provided email" (Sherman, 2007, pg. 649). Problems arise when the employer attempts other methods monitoring as Sherman notes; "The law is not clear, however, when an employer accesses an employee's webmail" (Sherman, pg. 649). Similar to the Deal v Spears case, the employer must take certain precautions in order to secure the right of monitoring. Many companies have developed policies and guidelines that are communicated to the employee in order to meet those requirements, but there are plenty of employee rights organizations that worry about infringement of employee privacy.
As technology can afford anonymity so to can it provide evidence that see through such anonymity. Thomas Jefferson once wrote; "Laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made... And opinions change with the change…...

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References

Foley, J.P. (ed.); (1900) the Jeffersonian cyclopedia: A comprehensive collection of the views of Thomas Jefferson, pg. 726

Sherman, M.A.; (2007) Webmail at work: The case for protection against employer monitoring, Touro Law Review, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 647-683

United States Court of Appeals; (1992) Sibbie Deal; Calvin Lucas, Appellees v. Newell Spears; Juanita Spears, doing business as White Oak Package Store, Appellants, 980 F.2d 1153, 61 USLW 2353, 8 IER Cases 105

Williams, K.R.; (2008) Protecting what you thought was yours: Expanding employee privacy to protect the attorney-client privilege from employer computer monitoring, Ohio State Law Journal, Vol. 69, No. 2, pp. 347-390

This could be construed as a part of the atmosphere that exists in the work place. At which point, entity / individual can sue the employer for violating the law, by not properly monitoring their employees' email and internet activities. ("Workplace Privacy and Employee Monitoring" 2010)
However, a larger concern that employers have is any email sent to someone by an employee can become a problem for them in the future. Where, an employee may tell a customer something in an email, then delete it and deny they said anything. The problem for the employer is that email correspondence can be retrieved later on, after the person has deleted the email. This can be used as evidence that the company knowingly knew what was occurring, because of the email record. If there were any kind of laws broken, law enforcement has a right to view all email correspondence with a…...

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Bibliography

Work Place Privacy and Employee Monitoring. (2010). Retrieved March 7, 2010 from Privacy Rights website:

 http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs7-work.htm 

Saunders, K. (2003). Practical Internet Law for Business. Boston, MA: Artech House.

Employee Privacy
Avoid liability invasion privacy Essay Question: List discuss ways employers avoid liability invasion privacy. Essay 350 words length APA format. There -text citation essay.

List and discuss different ways employers can avoid liability for invasion of privacy

Employers often justify intrusions into employee privacy based upon safety concerns: concerns about jeopardizing the health of the public can be used to allow drug and alcohol tests. Even lifestyle habits may be restricted, based upon the additional healthcare costs they can incur employers. Weight restrictions may be allowed if maintaining a certain weight is a safety hazard at some jobs, which is why "49 states allow weight standards that do not violate the ADA" (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman 2009: 682). Dating employees or the employees of a competitor business and moonlighting at another organization (which could reveal trade secrets or result in employees working too many hours to be productive) may be prohibited as…...

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References

Bennett-Alexander, D.D., & Hartman, L.P. (2009). Employment law for business (6th ed.).

New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Goldberg, C. (2012). Can my employer's wellness program really ask me to do that? Common

Health: WBUR. Retrieved from:

Privacy in the Workplace
The importance of privacy has risen over the years and its handling has become extremely crucial lately. Defaulting organisations have been faced with serious legal actions and thus, companies have taken a higher interest in the conversations of their workforce. However, this effort of the employer aimed at monitoring the activities of workers isn't as smooth as it should be due to the right of the employee to personal privacy.

The right of the workers to workplace privacy has caused several court cases recently, mostly due to the digital revolution of business communication i.e. emails, memos etc. Technological developments have made it possible for all form of digital communication as well as Internet use in the workplace to be placed under surveillance. Although employees have their reservations about this, the employers are protected by the law. However, other actions of the workers like confidential discussions and their private…...

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Bibliography

Cox, S., Goette, T., & Young, D. (2005). Workplace Surveillance and Employee Privacy: Implementing an Effective Computer Use Policy. Communications of the IIMA.

Muhl, C., (2003). Workplace e-mail and Internet use; employees and employers beware. Monthly Labor Review. 2, 36-45.

Smith, D., & Burg, J. (2012). What Are the Limits of Employee Privacy? Retrieved from GP Solo:  http://www.americanbar.org/publications/gp_solo/2012/november_december2012privacyandconfidentiality/what_are_limits_employee_privacy.html

Employee E-Mail and Internet Privacy Policies
The increased usage of the Internet and e-mail has changed the way companies do business. Nearly instantaneous communication can take place globally. Information on a countless number of topics can now be accessed from anywhere around the world. These technological developments have not only helped employees increase their efficiencies, but also has given them a new means of distraction from their duties. For this reason, many companies have developed e-mail and Internet policies.

At my job, our e-mail policy states that e-mails should not include illegal or libelous statements. E-mail is to be used for business purposes only and e-mail communications are the property of the company. For this reason, the company may access sent and received from work computers at any time, this includes deleted e-mails that are stored on the company's servers. The Internet policy is similar in that the Internet is also to…...

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References

Fact sheet 7: Workplace privacy and employee monitoring. (2010). Retrieved 6 Dec 2010, from  http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs7-work.htm #4a.

Privacy rights of employees using workplace computers in California. (2010). Retrieved 6 Dec 2010, from  http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/employees-rights.htm .

Work Distraction
The purpose of this memorandum is to inform the new company wide change of policy in monitoring employees. This information is a company directive and is expected to be followed and adhered to starting on today's date.

Recent developments in technology have made our jobs and tasks easier in many aspects. The internet, mobile, communication and social media are great tools that should be taken advantage of when the situation depends. However, this way of conducting business and relying on technology has some drawbacks as well. It has been learned from the Executive Leadership Branch of this company that nearly 1.5 hours of the work day are at risk from employee distractions related to emails, online browsing and phone calls.

Management will now be responsible for monitoring all employee's emails and phone calls. This will be done not for acquiring personal information, rather to discover work-related violations and abuse of our…...

This will pevent the employee fom claiming that they had thei basic civil ights violated.
In the futue, once new changes ae intoduced (fom tansfomations in technology), is when thee will be new policies implemented. Duing this pocess, eveyone will have to go though a new couse that will explain these guidelines. Afte they have finished, is when they will sign anothe disclosue document.

If the kind of appoach was used by employes, it will help to avoid many of the legal challenges that ae impacting fims. This is because executives ae taking the Iowa Supeme Cout guidelines and ae going beyond them. In the event that they ae sued, the fim can demonstate that they ae doing above what is equied (when it comes to these challenges). It is at this point, that an employe can stike a balance between monitoing the activities of staff membes and potecting thei pivacy.

Refeences

Though…...

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references cited in the paper in APA guideline format

Acceptable Use Policy at Cincom Systems
Policy for Cincom Systems

Cincom Systems' customers are the foundation of our success. This acceptable IT use policy statement is designed to provide our employees with the agility and flexibility to meet customer needs with accuracy and speed, while also protecting our IT systems, data, and records. This document defines the baseline of expectations for Cincom employees in interacting with all Cincom computing systems, platforms, Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections and partner sites as well. Every employee is expected at a minimum to ensure their activities on all Cincom IT systems don't jeopardize the confidentiality of customer data, financial data generated from Cincom operations, product and project development plans, and costing data of projects. As Cincom engages in confidential projects with governments globally in addition to the U.S. Department of Defense, any employee using data on these projects are required to have a valid DoD…...

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References

Hickins, M. (1999). Fighting surf abuse. Management Review, 88(6), 8-8.

Joice, W., & Verive, J. (2006). Telework and federal employee dependent care. Public Manager, 35(3), 44-49.

Lichtenstein, S., & Swatman, P.M.C. (1997). Internet acceptable usage policy for organizations. Information Management & Computer Security, 5(5), 182-190.

Martin, J.W. (2009). WHY YOU NEED AN EMPLOYEE POLICY for electronic information. Family Advocate, 32(2), 12-14.

One study by the ePolicy Institute found that 85% of employees admit to recreational surfing at work and seventy percent of employees admitted to receiving or sending adult-oriented personal e-mails at work, while 60% admitted to exchanging e-mail that could be considered racist, sexist or otherwise "politically incorrect" (Griffaton pp). In fact most traffic to Internet pornographic sites occurs during regular business hours, probably because Internet connections usually are faster in the workplace (Griffaton pp). Companies have taken note of these statistics and have adopted e-mail and Internet usage policies that contain provisions for continuous or random monitoring of usage (Griffaton pp).
The ePolicy Institute study reports that 77% of employers monitor employees' e-mail and Internet use, in fact, 10% of workers with e-mail and Internet access, roughly 14 million people, are under continuous online surveillance (Griffaton pp). Approximately two thirds of employers have disciplined or terminated employees for violating…...

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Works Cited

Feeley, Stacey A. "E-mail monitoring in the workplace: the good, the bad and the ugly." Defense Counsel Journal. January 01, 2000. Retrieved August 05, 2005 from HighBeam Research Library Web site.

Giblin, Patrick. "You never know who might be reading your e-mail.

Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. February 10, 2005. Retrieved August 05, 2005 from HighBeam Research Library Web site.

Griffaton, Michael C. "Between the devil and the deep blue sea: monitoring the electronic workplace; employers should have detailed, understandable and fair computer, e-mail and Internet usage policies impartially administered." Defense Counsel Journal. January 01, 2003.. Retrieved August 05, 2005 from HighBeam Research Library Web site.

Ethical Implications of Employee Monitoring
In recent years information technology (IT) has transformed workplaces tremendously. For instance, employers worldwide have embraced the use of technology to monitor the activities employees engage in during working hours and to increase the amount of work done on online business platforms. This was largely influenced by findings from numerous studies that established that if left unsupervised, employees tend to waste a lot of time and resources online. In fact, one Survey by Websense reported that one third of employees used the internet for personal reasons, which translates to costs of about $85 billion in America due to lost work time (Papini, 2007). Some employees may also use company resources for their own gain, which violates the organization's rules and procedures and decreases their productivity. According to a study done by the Work Surveillance Project of the Privacy Foundation[footnoteef:1], of the 100 million online workers…...

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References

Papini, J.S. (2007). Big Brother: The Effect of Electronic Employee Monitoring on Electronic Misbehavior, Job Satisfaction and Organiozational Commitment. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest Information and Learning Company

Stanton, J.M. & Stam, K.R. (2006) The Visible Employee: Using Workplace Monitoring and Surveillance to Protect Information Assets-Without Compromising Employee Privacy or Trust. New Jersey: Information Today, Inc.

Weckert, J. (2005). Electronic Monitoring in the Workplace: Controversies and Solutions. Heyshey, PA: Idea Group Publishing

Employee Layoff
A friend in California has just lost his job in a layoff together with 98 other employees in the same private sector company. The company's administrators have told him that he was included in the recent layoff because of his refusal to take a lie detector test regarding some drugs that were found in his company locker. He also declined to take a drug test since he was afraid that a positive result would make the state child protection agency to take away custody of his children. This situation is an example of a scenario with legal ramifications on the basis of several regulations such as Polygraph Protection Act, Worker Adjustment and etraining Notification Act, Privacy laws, Drug Testing laws, and OSHA.

Generally, the use of lie detector tests in the workplace is not geared towards determining whether an employee is telling the truth but to examine whether the worker's…...

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References:

"Employees' Rights in the Workplace." (1999). The Maryland State Bar Association, Inc.

Retrieved May 9, 2014, from  http://www.msba.org/departments/commpubl/publications/brochures/workplace.asp 

"Lie Detector Tests." (2008). Can My Boss Do That? Retrieved May 9, 2014, from  http://www.canmybossdothat.com/category.php?id=269