...Assignment #1 – Electronic Surveillance of Employees DJhonna M. Jones Legal 500 January 28, 2012 Professor Lisa Armonda, J.D. Abstract: This paper is a look at the Video “Electronic Surveillance of Employees”. It will cover where employees can reasonable expect to have privacy, open and enclosed area effects on employees. It will also cover Mr. Herman’s information needs, employer electronic surveillance of employee’s extent, and unaware third party usage in surveillance. Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. In general workplaces can be divided into two types. The first type is the closed office space. When doors are closed in this type, there is virtually complete privacy for conversations taking place within the enclosed space. Its direct opposite of an enclosed office space, an open office space is a series of desks within an open area separated at most by various pieces of furniture and petitions. Due to the recent trend of litigation resulting from the use of surveillance in the work place, electronic surveillance has taken a larger spot in law than ever before. Most employees use the computers at their jobs to do private things such as send personal email or make an online purchase. Most are convinced that these little slips in the workplace go unnoticed by their employers and feel that their actions remain something private that only then know of. However...
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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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...an individual, but as a function of the corporation. Employers have a need to monitor things such as how productive and loyal the individual is to the corporation (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010). In today’s highly technical society, the ability to monitor employees at work has increased significantly. As a result, the need to determine what constitutes appropriate monitoring is discussed regularly. While heavily debated, there are situations in which an employee can expect to be protected from violating ones privacy in the workplace. Courts take into consideration two main factors. First, the obnoxiousness of the means used to intrude. If an organization uses unusual methods of gaining private information about an employee, this could be considered a violation of privacy. There is no expectation of privacy when it comes to corporate email communication, because is considered a usual to monitor corporate email. Secondly, there has to be a reasonable reason for intruding. To monitor the after hour activities of an employee who has filed a worker’s compensation claim, for the purpose of the claim is considered lawful. But to monitor these activities for no valid reason is considered unlawful. So while the monitoring of employees by an employer is permitted, there are laws that protect how, and when the monitoring cross the line and becomes unlawful. There laws that protect an employee when it comes to privacy of personnel records, medical information,...
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...expect to have privacy in the workplace is in the restroom. “Because electronic monitoring is now commonplace, it may be considered normal, if not accepted, as long as employers can point to a legitimate purpose for monitoring, it will be difficult for employees to win cases against them.” (Halbert & Ingulli pg 74). With this being said, within the private sector privacy law would allow for very minimal expectation of privacy anywhere other than the workplace facility’s’ lavatories. Depending on the workplaces provided service, a case can be made that there is a need to monitor to protect the companies interest as well as its customers. When dealing with the concept of privacy it’s important to consider personal privacy in relation to the company’s privacy and more paramount, company protection. As the video illustrated, the managers reasoning for monitoring his sales floor employee conversations was to protect the reputation of the car dealership as well as protect the business against any potential legal ramifications from dishonest sales employees. This is a very reasonable purpose for monitoring electronically to protect company interest. However, it would be in the interest of the company to communicate to its employees that they are being monitored so there is not sense of privacy invasion of its employees. As in the example with this case, it’s reasonable that the case can be made that electronic surveillance anywhere on the company property is reasonable to protect customer...
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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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...Electronic Surveillance of Employees Professor Michael Hall Law, Ethic, and Corporate Governance- LEG 500 November 1, 2011 Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. You may think your United States employee rights authorize you to have a privacy workplace. People are wrong because, according to workplace privacy studies, the odds were good that your employer was monitoring all your internet actions, including your web pages and chat rooms (Niznik, 2011). If your company policy does not state there is a workplace privacy policy, your employer may watch, listen, and read just about everything in workplace area. Employers have the right to protect their business, their finances, and all of their equipment. The American Management Association (AMA) conducted a study of 526 employers which most use some type of electronic surveillance of the employees (Niznik, 2011). Many employers will deny they use any type of electronic surveillance however; the odds are good that your employer has “the eye,” watching your every move at work. Employers are not required to provide workplace privacy because your employers own everything you use at work. Your employers own the computers you work on, the telephones you talk on and the buildings in which you work. There are only a few weak employee workplace privacy right laws that exist. Since there are so few workplace privacy laws, it is legal for “the eye” to spy on you without your...
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...reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. With the increased use of technology, employers are constantly searching for new means to protect their company, secure their investments, and increase employees’ productivity. Because of this, employees cannot reasonably expect to have privacy within the workplace. Although employees would like privacy in their office, on their computer, and during phone conversations, there is no law legally granting privacy to employees in the workplace. The only place an employee could have a reasonable expectation of privacy is in the restroom. Also, since the employers need to know all employees are providing a proper job, that the workplace place is always secured, also because as the owner of the company he owns the computer network, the terminals and will be the biggest loser if the company fails, he or she is free to monitor employees in order to protect the business and at the same time the employees. Even if employees are sometime given today some minimal protection from computer and other forms of electronic monitoring in the work place, especially through union contract, the Fourth Amendment; or Connecticut, Labor Code Chapter 557 and so on, 92% of all of the US companies still conducting high electronic surveillance in the workplace according to the American Management Association (AMA) report of 2009. For example, personal calls are protected under federal case law. So when an employer realizes the call is personal, he...
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...that addressed the issues of electronic surveillance of employees. I will explain if workers can reasonably get privacy in the workplace, the difference between an open and enclosed office area, if Herman’s need for electronic surveillance is a sufficient reason, how an employee can engage in electronic surveillance, and finally explain to what extent the inclusion of innocent, unaware third parties in such surveillance is legal. In the conclusion I will explain how important these five questions are, why it is important to understand these questions and finally how it is important to understand and answer the questions so we can be clear about the issue. Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. There are not a lot of places employees can go to have privacy, unless they are leaving the workplace doing their lunch hour and going somewhere to be alone. Privacy for employees is hard when you are working in a public environment. In the video Electronic Surveillance of Employees, Herman is the boss at a car dealership and he has an enclosed office. He can close his door whenever he needs some privacy. The other two employees, Tony and Shelly, have a cubical and are in an open workspace. Pursing this further, managers in a fast food restaurant work closely with their employees. During the rush hours, which normally occur from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, managers are working closely with their employees to help get orders out, assist...
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...Electronic Surveillance of Employees Law, Ethics and Corporate Governance - LEG 500 Strayer University 23 October 2011 Electronic Surveillance of Employees Introduction Employers are trying to monitor their employees even more to ensure employees' aren't using business hours to conduct personal business or violating other company policies. They want to ensure their employees' are being productive during work hours and are working to achieve company goals. This report will address the following: Where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace? Is there a difference if an employee is in an open area or in an enclosed office? Does a supervisor of a dealership have sufficient grounds for utilizing electronic employee surveillance? To what extent an employer can engage in electronic surveillance of employees? Lastly, to what extent the inclusion of innocent, unaware third-parties in such surveillance determine whether it is legal? Employee Expectation of Privacy in the Workplace With the challenging economy, employers are finding new ways to protect their assets and increase employee performance. Whether it is through surveillance or monitoring internet usage, companies are trying to protecting what is rightfully theirs. In many companies employees privacy rights are granted by regulations and specific laws. There are a number of cases when these rules would come into play. Say for instance, new employees are required to provide Human Resources...
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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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...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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...Running Header: Video Assignment Electronic Surveillance of Employees Strayer University Professor Whitney Davis, Esq. LEG 500 22 January 2012 Franchrista M. Rollie Explain Where an Employee Can Reasonably Expect to Have Privacy in the Workplace Employee privacy rights are automatically granted and protected by specific labor laws, regulations and certain rules to follow, especially when it comes to employment. There are laws already in existence in our society to protect that one employee privacy regarding personnel records, medical information, health status, social security numbers, background checks, and everything else that could cause harm to someone. There is no specific statue or code that creates a right to privacy, a gray line is always brought into discussion which employers could always argue about gaining more control and productivity over one employee. Employers and their employees often have very different views when it comes to workplace privacy. Employers often believe that anything that goes on in the office is subject to review and scrutiny by the employer. This belief, at times, related to employee use of the office phone, computers, office space, and office resources. Employers often take the position that once an employee arrives at work anything the employee does related to job performance and is therefore subject to the employer’s oversight. Employees on the other hand, usually have certain expectations of privacy when...
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...View the video: “Electronic Surveillance of Employees” by clicking on the link in the course shell. There is also a link that will allow you to print the script of the video. Write a four to five (4-5) page report that answers the following: 1. Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. In today’s age of e-mail, internet, and increased use of technology, there are very few places that an employee can expect to have privacy in the workplace. The sanctuary of one’s enclosed office used to be expected to warrant privacy but not anymore. There are no uniform legal standards protecting employee privacy in the workplace. Employers can get away with denying workplace privacy because they own the business phones, computers, and building. About the only place an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace is in the changing room. Wisconsin Representative Thomas Petri introduced Bill H.R. 582 in 2005 to enact the Employee Changing Room Privacy Act. This bill would prohibit employers from engaging in video or audio monitoring of employees in restroom facilities, dressing rooms, or other areas in which it is reasonable to expect employees to change clothing. It proposed to establish maximum civil money penalties for violators. However, this bill never became law. 2. In the office workplace there are typically two types of workspaces, an open area, in which there are several desks and where conversations can...
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...Assignment #1 Electronic Surveillance of Employees Strayer University Law, Ethics and Corporate Governance –LEG-5000 July 31 2011 1. Explain where an employees can reasonably expect o have privacy in the workplace? Every employee has the right to privacy in the workplace. Privacy in the workplace has become quite big issue. With the rise of continuing of technology and innovations many employers are seeking how far can they go to monitor their employee’s personal cell phone usage, personal telephone calls and text messaging according to, Lawinfo.com,(December 2009 ) . The usage of emails and other types of electronic communication is becoming more essential of many people lives. However, but when employees use property owed by their employers that are permitted to be used for business purpose, personal privacy laws are largely inapplicable according to Lawinfo.com, (December 2009) .When a person uses his or her cell phone or the company’s business phone or receives phone calls there’s an expectation of privacy in terms of content of any personal conversation. Under the Electronic Communication Act (ECPA), the employee may be liable for monitoring an employee’s private conversation and any other voicemail messages. In other words, the employee’s expectation of privacy in regards to telephone communications this varies from other types of electronic communications, Lawinfo.com article,(December,2009 ) . Some employees find that most business has video cameras, phone...
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...Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace? Employees can reasonably expect to have privacy in two areas of an organization, the restroom and break room. If an organization were to install recording devices in the either place this would violate employee’s reasonable expectation of privacy. According to the Fourth Amendment, U.S. Constitution “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, house, paper and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated” (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010, pg. 89). Human beings need and expect a degree of privacy to thrive. If individuals were not afforded this necessity, the work place becomes unproductive. Companies tangle with this issue, but understand privacy is needed. If an organization were to install cameras in the break room, this would appear to be very strange to its employees. This action raises the question, why monitor your employees during time periods where they are not being paid and not performing organizational duties? Furthermore, if an organization were to do this they would need reasonable grounds for taking such actions. This information would need to be given to employees during orientation before they accept employment. 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 overheard, or an enclosed office, in which- when the door is closed-conversations cannot...
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