E-MAIL PRIVACY AT WORK

Are the e-mails you send from work private?  Are your internet searches from work private?  Does your employer have a right to look at your personal e-mails sent from work and to monitor the websites you visit?

Assume that you have no e-mail or internet privacy while at work.  Most employers have an "Electronic Media Policy" which gives the employer the right to monitor their employees' email and internet usage.  Do you really want your employer to know your weekend plans or what you did at your friend's party?  Even if your employer does not have the written policy in effect, most courts seem to hold that an employee who uses an employer provided computer or other electronic media device at work does not have the same "expectation of privacy" that they would have in their personal life.

Employees really don't want their employers looking into their personal lives uninvited.  If the employee makes a claim or complaint against their employer, the employer's electronic media policies often allow an employer to go back once they have been sued by an employee and look at the employees old emails and web surfing history to find evidence to use against the employee. This can include emails from the employee to their attorney or other communications that the employee might otherwise have kept private.  This type of "after acquired evidence" is admissible in lawsuits and can severely limit the damages a wrongfully treated employee will receive from their employer.

It is better to not conduct your personal life on the company computer or electronic devices, and do not communicate with your attorney on company email or the company computer, especially if that communication relates to a potential lawsuit against your employer.

I’m attorney Eric Rudolph with Your Legal Buzz.