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Employee privacy when using the employer?s computer

Employee privacy when using the employer?s computer
Source: CCH ? Workday Blog

CCH?s Workday Blog discusses Brahmana v Lembo, N.D. Cal. a case wherein ?one employee, one employer and a federal trial court in California are about to at least decide if monitoring down to the very keystroke violates privacy rights, or at least those rights under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).? ECPA concerns the ?access, use, disclosure, interception and privacy protections of electronic communications.?

NYPPL Comments: Alleged employee "misuse? of his or her employer?s electronic equipment is a developing branch of personnel law.

In Ghita v Department of Education of the City of New York, [posted on the Internet at http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/pdfs/2008/2008_30706.pdf ], Mircea Ghita challenged an arbitrator?s determination terminating his employment with the New York City Department of Education after finding him guilty of downloading a file of pornographic material from his AOL e-mail account and openly viewed such pornographic material on a school computer. Supreme Court rejected Ghita?s claim that the arbitrator exceeded his authority under Education Law §3020-a, and the award terminating Ghita's employment is a violation of public policy and New York State Law.

Other courts have considered the question of an employee's right to privacy in using his or her employer's computer equipment. In Fraser v Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., 135 F. Supp. 2d 623, the court held that an employee using his or her employer's computer equipment for personal business does not enjoy any "right to privacy" barring the employer?s reviewing the employee's e-mail that is stored in its computer system.

Federal District Court Judge Anita B. Brody decided that an employer may peruse an employee's e-mail files that are stored in the system without violating either federal or Pennsylvania wiretap laws.

Concerning the issue of the expectation of privacy, the appointing authority may wish to periodically advise its officers and employees that they have no right to privacy with respect to any data retrieved from the employer's computers, servers, video tapes, message tapes or other storage devices, electronic or otherwise.

The CCH article is posted on the Internet at:
http://cch-workday.blogspot.com/2009/06/monitoring-keystrokes-privacy-issue-or.html

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on June 29, 2009 (boomark / email).