- The American Management Association's (AMA) "2007 Electronic Monitoring and Surveillance Survey" reports that 73 percent of the surveyed employers monitored employee email messages, while 66 percent monitored web surfing, and 45 percent monitored computer keystrokes and keyboard time. As an employer, you can avoid costly lawsuits by having a clearly written and communicated policy around the monitoring of employees while they use firm equipment such as computers and telephones. Write the policy so it clearly addresses the situations when the company will monitor employee activity. Also define who at the firm is authorized to conduct the monitoring. For example, for many firms this is a leader in the technology department. Review the final policy with your legal department before you distribute it to employees.
- Employers or computer system providers are permitted to monitor employees who use company-owned equipment as noted by the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Call center representatives and other employees who interact directly with clients can have their customer conversations monitored and recorded. As employee privacy rights relates to text messaging, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on June 18, 2008, that employers are required to obtain a warrant or permission from an employee prior to viewing cell phone text messages that are not stored on the company's servers. Employers are not permitted to monitor employee conversations that are conducted on the employee's personal cell phone.
- The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) prevents employers from conducting employee background searches on bankruptcies older than 10 years. Employers are also prevented from searching on civil lawsuits, judgments and arrest records that date back beyond seven years. Your paid tax liens, collection accounts and other negative information that is more than 7 years old, excluding criminal convictions, are not allowed to be viewed by employers.
- Generally federal employees are offered more stringent privacy rights than their counterparts who work in the private sector. For example, the federal privacy act requires agency employers to make employees aware of what records are maintained on them as well as the reason for maintaining the records. You must make employee records available to government employees for review upon request. If you improperly disclose private employee information as a federal worker, you could be assessed a fine of up to $5,000.
- Concern over employee privacy rights has grown over the last 40 years, particularly as electronic communications have expanded. National Work Rights Institute, 9 to 5, National Association of Working Women, Workplace Fairness and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are some of the leading organizations that advocate stronger government regulations around employee monitoring.
