...technology, policies and laws must adapt to be compatible to those advancements in order to provide the best method to govern the laws and policies and protect its people. This paper will explore how technological advancements have influenced crucial changes in two essential policies: the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA). The Electronic Communications Privacy Act, an extension of the Federal Wiretap Statute, was endorsed in 1986 (Justice Information Sharing, 2010). This was a necessary implementation with how technology was diversifying ways to communicate and share information. In order to oversee and safeguard technological advancements such as email, cordless and cell phone communications, and electronically stored data the federal government had to amend and sometimes put into operation new policies. These policies, like the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, minimize many ethical issues that came along with the development of these advancements. As technology experimented with ideals such as wireless connection, it gave way to many unethical and at times illegal practices. Ethical issues that the Electronic Communications Privacy Act had to address included accessibility and privacy; information could be shared outside the confinement of a person’s home or business. The government needed to find a way that would control and guard how this information was access, collected and stored. Implementing the Electronic Communications...
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...Running Head: Electronic Surveillance of Employees Electronic Surveillance of Employees Tenika Farris Professor: Anne Dewey- Balzhiser LEG 500-Law, Ethics & Corp. Governance 10/22/2011 Introduction New technology allows employers to monitor the job performance of their employees which has become a common practice in some workplaces. This procedure can be accomplished through e-mail, telephone, camera, internet and other electronic surveillance monitoring systems. This procedure was designed to be used solely for business purposes. In many instances employees have been made to feel as if their privacy has been invaded. Upon implementing such practices employers and employees both have a need to be knowledgable of any policies permitting the use of monitoring devices and to know their rights. Research The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) is the only federal statute that offers workers protections in communications privacy. ECPA prohibits the intentional interception of electronic communications. However, the ECPA contains loopholes that facilitate employee monitoring. First, employers are permitted to monitor networks for business purposes. This enables employers to listen in on employee phone calls or to view employees' e-mail. Employers may not monitor purely personal calls, however, in order to determine that a call is personal, employers usually have to listen to portions of the employee's conversation. Second, an employer may intercept...
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...may not be all possible due to electronic Surveillance . Employees are becoming increasingly concerned about their privacy as their employers are monitoring them electronically more closely than ever before. Still employees expect to have privacy at the lunch area, bathrooms and lockers. Besides those places the employee has little or almost no privacy within the company. Electronic monitoring allows an employer to observe what employees do on the job and review employee communications, including e-mail and Internet activity, often capturing and reviewing communications that employees consider private. Video monitoring is common in many work environments to maintains security, by monitoring employees and to deter theft. There are laws set in place to also protect the privacy tof employee’s personnel records, including personal data, medical information and health status, social security numbers, background screenings information, financial and everything else that could invade a persons privacy. Is Herman's need to know whether his salespersons are honest a sufficient ground for utilizing electronic surveillance? The answer probably depends on whether there are alternative methods of ascertaining the honesty of salespersons that are less invasive of the employees' privacy. For example, Herman could use surveys of customers to find out this information. In fact, many businesses use customer surveys rather than electronic surveillance to evaluate the honesty...
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...Assignment 1: Electronic Surveillance of Employees Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance – LEG 500 Strayer University. January 22, 2012 1. Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. Privacy has become an extremely important part of American culture. Privacy is freedom from unsanctioned intrusion (American Heritage Dictionary). It is an implied right based on the Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments of the Constitution (August, et al., 2001). Employees believe that an employer has no business prying into their private life, even at work. Many others believe that employers don't have any excuse to monitor them. For many years, there has been an ongoing fight between employers and employees pertaining to employee rights. While employers monitor employee behavior with customers, email accounts, phone conversation and company computers mainly for many reasons, many employees don't seem to understand why exactly employers intend to do this. When it comes to employment, many employee privacy rights are granted by specific laws, rules, and regulations. Employees should always be treated with respect, dignity, appreciation and not be exploited. An employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in a bathroom or locker rooms, places considered physically invasive. Beyond those areas most employees have little rights to privacy within the workplace. New technology has made it possible for employers to monitor many aspects of their...
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...Electronic Surveillance of Employees Assignment # 1 By Diara Freeman Law Ethics and Corporate Governance Professor Michael Green April 23, 2011 Electronic Surveillance of Employees Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. The issue of privacy is a big concern in the workplace. With the expanding of new technology, many employees are concerned that their privacy rights are not being protected. Employers want to be sure their employees are doing a good job, but employees don't want their every sneeze or trip to the water cooler logged. That's the essential conflict of workplace monitoring. New technologies make it possible for employers to monitor many aspects of their employees' jobs, especially on telephones, computer terminals, through electronic and voice mail, and when employees are using the Internet. Such monitoring is virtually unregulated. Therefore, unless company policy specifically states otherwise (and even this is not assured), your employer may listen, watch and read most of your workplace communications. (Harlow, 1999) When an employee is hired at a new company, there are several security measures that are already in place in order to keep their personal information private and/or confidential. The first being in the Human Resources Department where all the information is gathered by the employee filling out various forms of that are confidential in nature. This information is kept in...
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...Purpose of an Acceptable Use Policy Name Institution Course Date Purpose of an Acceptable Use Policy Acceptable use policy is an official and legal document that binds the employees of Tata communications to understand that the information and data is the property of the organisations and there are a certain rules that should be abided by when using this information. It secures the rights of a company to enforce certain obligations over them to make sure that they do not indulge in unethical and unprofessional sharing of the information upon which they are working or can access. The acceptable use policy which is taken as an example for the purpose of this paper is of Tata communications, which is the telecommunication company in India. The policy aims to elucidate the guidelines and standards for the employees to make sure that the information privacy and security is not compromised by the employees and that they are well aware of how to use the information. Every new employee at the company is made to go through the acceptable use policy and sign it for future reference. This maintains the check over the usage and sharing pattern of the employees. Each and every point that is central or peripheral to the usage and sharing is mentioned clearly with enough examples and instances to remove any kind of confusion to the employees. Critique the AUP The AUP is very well written and communicated however, there are certain points that can be included...
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...Electronic Surveillance of Employees LEG 500 Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance January 22, 2012 1. Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. Human beings need privacy and have a right to expect privacy in certain areas of their lives. The areas where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace are very limited. Common decency precludes monitoring in highly private locations, such as bathrooms. Personal items, such as purses, wallets and gym bags may also be considered to be off-limits. The employee can also reasonably expect privacy during personal telephone calls at work. In Watkins v. L. M. Berry (1983), the court upheld upon appeal that employers must stop monitoring calls upon realization that the call is of a personal nature. Exceptions to this are when employer policy specifically forbids calls of a personal nature. Here the employees need for privacy directly conflict with established policy. Privacy protection may vary with state laws and federal statutes. State laws on privacy in the workplace may differ with some states offering much more privacy protection to the employees than others. For example, Volkert (2005) reported that while electronic surveillance may be allowed in Idaho, it must have a specific purpose and record video only (no audio). Government employees are likely to have greater privacy rights than private sector employees due to protections under the Fourth Amendment of...
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...E-Mail and Internet Policy Darryn Cooper COM/285 Angie Robert August 24, 2011 E-Mail and Internet Policy The integrity of a business relies on communication, both using internal and external communications. E-mails and the internet are two ways that businesses communicate with shareholders, employees and their customers. In today’s global market, the use of computer guidelines and policies have been implemented to ensure that all employees adhere to those policies. Communication via the internet and use of emails should be carefully considered when using it. This essay will discuss why e-mail and internet policies have been put in place. *1Congress passed the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, (Privacy Act) to safeguard records of information pertaining to individuals that Federal agencies or components own and maintain. The Department of Defense (DoD) policy regarding e-mail and internet use is very strict. All employees who are employed by the DoD are given a Common Access Card (CAC). The CAC is inserted into the computer and requires that you enter a password. At no time should you leave your CAC in the computer when an individual leaves his or her computer. Ashmore ( 2009), " Many federal laws affect employer regulation of email and internet uses, such as the Federal Wiretap Act; the Electronic Communications Privacy Act; and the Stored Communications Act. In addition, state...
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...Assignment #1 - Electronic Surveillance of Employees Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. The given video case describes the private-sector employers’ surveillance activities. In this point, private-sector employers want to make sure that their business assets are not being violated at any time by anyone. Employers have the right to protect their business success, their finances, their buildings, and all of their equipment. There should be no expectations of privacy at any workplace by an employee. New technology has made it possible for employers to monitor phone calls, emails, and any other information that is being used for the particular company to conduct business. Many companies make all employees sign acknowledgement stating the privacy policy of the company that is legally binding. For instance, the employer may communicate that employees may enjoy privacy in certain demarcated areas of the office. The employee can enjoy privacy in those areas. From a legal perspective employees can reasonably expect privacy in the bathroom and locker room. In such places video monitoring will not be accepted in a court of law. In the office workplace there are typically two types of workspaces, an open area, in which there are several desks and where conversations can be overhead, or an enclosed office, in which—when the door is closed—conversations cannot be heard and where one would expect virtually total privacy. Explain whether...
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...Electronic Surveillance of Employees Legal 500 10/20/2011 1. Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. The increased use of technology in the workplace has generated new fears for both employers and employees in the privacy region. These days most employees have access to email, and internet access in the workplace, as opposed to a decade ago, has also exploded. According to an IDC Corporation study, two-thirds of employees in medium and large companies in the United States had Internet access in 1997. Today, those numbers are exponentially higher (Gindin, 1997). While this technology can be praised for the ways in which it has helped industry and general public, it also raises concerns about employee’s privacy in the workplace that before did not exist. Employers did not have technological access to both work-related and personal information about their employees, but now employers have full technological access to the employee’s information while he is at work. Question is why employers would need the personal information of their workers, what they do with the information and why employees should be worried, how employers can protect themselves from privacy suits, what the legal position of such privacy concern is and lastly, what employees should be doing to safeguard their privacy while at work. The employees can reasonably expect privacy in the workplace in places like restrooms, parking lots, lounges and in the kitchen area...
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...Electronic Surveillance Of Employees Running Head: Electronic Surveillance Of Employees Electronic Surveillance of Employees Cathy D. Brown Professor:: Anne Dewey-Balzhiser LEG500- Law, Ethics and Corporate Governance Date: January 22, 2012 Introduction: Some would say that workplace privacy rights are non-existent in the private sector. Workplace surveillance is that employers have a legitimate right to conduct surveillance for the benefit of themelves, the community at large for purpose such as detection of fraud and other crimes, the defference of criminality, and in order to comply with laws such as discrimination and defamation law. A employer can engage in electronic surveillance of its employees to further protect his her company however, an employer shoud inform employees that they are subject to monitoring perhaps by setting up a highly visible surveillance system or distributing to all employees and job applicants copies of a surveillance policy or both. Research The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) is the only federal statute that offers workers protections in communications privacy. ECPA prohibits the intentional interception of electronic communications. Some may find that, the ECPA contains loopholes that facilitate employee monitoring. Court found the company’s electronic communications policy to be ambiguous and interpreted the ambiguity against employer. The court The policy stated that the company could...
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...Assignment #1 – Electronic Surveillance of EmployeesStrayer University LEG500 – Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance Assignment #1 – Electronic Surveillance of EmployeesExplain Where an Employee Can Reasonably Expect to Have Privacy in the WorkplaceAlthough the law on employee privacy rights is still developing, various federal and state laws limit and define what employers can do when monitoring their employees (Dillon, Hamilton, Thomas, & Usry, 2008). Under federal and most state law, there are areas where an employee has a “reasonable expectation of privacy” in the workplace. Generally, privacy in the workplace can reasonably be expected in the following three general areas.First, the area of where employees can reasonably expect to have privacy from their co-workers is in their private workplace areas. Courts generally recognize a reasonable expectation of privacy as to an employee’s exclusive private office, desk, and file cabinets containing personal matters not shared with other workers (Wilson, 2006). Second, in highly private areas such as restrooms, break lounges, locker rooms, and places designated for health or personal comfort, courts have generally recognized employees’ reasonable expectations of privacy. The main reason is that activities carried out in these places are things that are not normally done in public. They are private acts, and the employee has a reasonable expectation of privacy during these activities. Finally, different kind of privacy...
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...Assignment One 1 Abstract Many employers recognize that need for a specific policies regarding surveillance or monitoring in the workplace. The primary purpose of such policies is to eliminate any expectation of privacy on the part of an employee utilizing company technologies or property for personal use. However, even when an employer has a policy, it is nonetheless common for employers to tolerate some degree of private usage by employees. This is one dilemma for employers and the main purpose for establishing a "zero tolerance". In any event, the employer's written policy and actual practices should clarify to employees specifically and inform third parties through implied or informed consent the expectations of the employer or business utilizing surveillance. Assignment One 2 Question One 1. Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. In the office workplace there are typically two types of workspaces, an open area, in which there are several desks and where conversations can be overhead, or an enclosed office, in which—when the door is closed—conversations cannot be heard and where one would expect virtually total privacy. Explain whether it makes a difference if an employee is in an open area or in an enclosed office. Surveillance is becoming commonplace in the work environment. Generally speaking, employers are permitted to monitor by surveillance "public" areas. When surveillance is hidden, however, and when the...
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...privacy in the workplace. Reasonable expectation of privacy for an employee could require a balancing test as what the US District Court judge used in the 1996 case of Michael A. Smith v. The Pillsbury Company. The judge ruled in the defendants favor saying that Pillsbury’s “interest in preventing inappropriate and unprofessional comments or even illegal activity over the email system outweighed any privacy interest the employee may have in those (email) comments”,( Halbert 2011, p.72). In this case, it was more important for Pillsbury to know what communication was going out through its email system than it was to protect Mr. Smith’s privacy. Consequently, where an employee expects to have reasonable privacy depends on the employers’ own policy within the workplace. The policies need to be clear and easily accessible to the employee. Many US companies would have their policies posted on their internal websites where an employee can review them at anytime. The information normally spells-out that any use of company facilities or equipment garners the right for that employer to monitor it at any time. This could include their email system, voicemail system, company phone, company car, etc. To be honest, I think arguably the places where an employee can expect reasonable privacy are within a more enclosed areas. One of the most enclosed areas at a workplace is the bathroom or a changing room in a company’s gym, for example. It...
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...Businesses The existing economic and business setting implies on-going efforts towards better understanding and dealing with the challenges of the modern era, which are characterized by the crucial need for making changes due to intense competition and ongoing global crisis’. As a rule, privacy rights are established by explicit regulations, laws or rules. Some privacy rights are relevant in the workplace and some don't. And even if there is no particular law, a right to privacy can be based on the legal common law notion of having a "reasonable expectation of privacy”, (Lippke, 1998). For employers and employees in the business industry, privacy concerns have become progressively more widespread in the workplace, and with the increased use of electronic resources, privacy at work is even more compound. Consequently, it is imperative that both supervisors and managers have a fundamental understanding of some of the more common privacy rights and issues that can arise, as well as the restrictions that may apply. Some of the more prevalent privacy issues that employees face are drug testing, email monitoring, personnel records, social security numbers, monitoring and eavesdropping, back-ground screening, and medical records. Because of these issues, there are quite a few areas of human capital management in which privacy rights are recognized. Whether these laws put in place by state, federal or local authorities, both employers and employees should be attentive to the issues and how...
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