Transcript Document
EMPLOYEE USE OF
COMPANY E-MAIL
MONITORING &
PRIVACY ISSUES
TECHNOLOGY ISSUES-OF-THE-DAY
80s – Proliferation of the
PC
90s – Internet
00s – Privacy in the
workplace
PRIVACY IN THE WORKPLACE:
THE ISSUE
Has the attention of the U.S.’s largest
corporations
There are presently 110 Chief Privacy Officers
among such corporations.
By 2002, it is expected the number of CPOs in
such corporations will rise to between 500-1000.
Source: John Schwartz, (Chief Privacy Officers Forge Evolving Corporate Rules),
New York Times, 2/12/01.
EMPLOYER USE OF COMPANY
OWNED TECHNOLOGY
BACKGROUND
90% of all businesses having more than 1,000
employees have e-mail and employees sent over 60
billion electronic messages in 2000
Internet use: - 171 million in 1999
- 304 million as of March 2000
Employers’ electronic monitoring of employees’
communications has doubled since 1997
The ACLU estimates that the number of
employees monitored in the workplace jumped
from 8 million in 1991 to 30 million in 1999
Nearly 3/4ths of major U.S. companies record
and review their employees’ telephone calls, email messages, internet searches and computer
files
29% of U.S. companies block access to some
internet sites
50% of such companies have had to discipline
employees for misuse of company internet or email and 25% had discharged employees for
doing so
Recently, Dow, The New York Times & Xerox
reported mass firing for employee misuse of
company’s technology
A recent poll found 89% of Americans
concerned about invasions of privacy
WHY THE MONITORING?
Employee use of company-owned hardware & software
for personal use during work hours affects productivity
Such conduct can also lead to all manner of legal
problems:
Sexual harassment
Discrimination
Anonymous web posting (trade secrets & defamation)
Harm to 3rd parties
Discovery in litigation
FACTS ABOUT INTERNET USAGE
“Surprising Internet Use Statistics” by
Websense, Inc.
(http://websense.com/management/stats.cfm)
Sample:
62% of U.S. companies’ employees surf for sexually
explicit material on the internet
The #1 search term used is “sex” and
“pornography/porno” is the 4th most used search
term
72% of all internet porn traffic occurs during
working hours
During working hours, 9% of employees earning
less than $35,000 surf the internet for a new job
while 11% of those making between $75,000 and
$100,000 search for a new job
Other data estimates that the cost to companies
from this type of lack of productivity is $5.3 billion
ONE RESULT OF MONITORING
Employee Invasion of
Privacy Claims have
increased 3,000% in the
past ten years
FOUR REASONS TO MONITOR
Failure to monitor employees can result in substantial
exposure from within the company or by parties
outside;
Active monitoring by management can avoid disclosure
of company trade secrets and defamation of the
corporation;
Maintaining an effective monitoring system will
discourage dissemination of internal electronic
communications that could be used against the
company in the event of litigation; and
Employee productivity and even retention can be
maintained through an effective policy and monitoring
system
HOW SHOULD AN EMPLOYER
RESPOND TO THESE ISSUES?
HR and IT work with your
legal counsel to formulate
a monitoring program
GENERAL PURPOSE FOR COMPANY POLICIES
Insulate employer from
liability for
unauthorized employee
conduct
respondeat superior
doctrine
WHAT SHOULD YOU INCLUDE IN YOUR PLAN
AND HOW SHOULD IT BE IMPLEMENTED?
Scope will depend on type
of business involved
Have management team
agree on what level is
needed
Once level decided, run
monitoring software for a
week; see what it reveals
WRITTEN MONITORING PLAN
Disclosure to employees prior to hiring and
periodically thereafter that all e-mail, voicemail,
Internet access and computer files are subject to
monitoring
Notify employees that the technology they are
provided by the company is company property and is
to be used for business purposes
Explain to employees that despite the fact that they
are given password to access your system, they should
not have an expectation that the system is “private”
Notify employees what, if any, materials they
will not be allowed to transport in and out of
the company system
Have an agreed upon electronic “document”
destruction plan
Reiterate that your non-harassment and nondiscrimination policies apply to company email
Notify employees what the penalties for
violating the policy are or could be. This
should include reprimand, demotion and
termination; and
Make sure you get something in writing from
your employees to acknowledge receipt of the
written policy when issued and if updated