Employee Privacy Rights in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Employee Privacy Rights in the Workplace - Essay ExampleMany employees stealing from companies send the purloined info to their personal e-mail account held at home or on the web. 21 part burned the information onto CDs. Due to these technological security issues, employers feel the need and have the capability to monitor their employees. E-mails, joint mails, the Internet, telephones, computers, etc. can be use for unregulated monitoring. Employees say this is an invasion of their privacy. Companies say this is a security measure of their assets. The law is not clear on whether companies argon invading employees privacy rights regarding information technology so policies must be set and employees must be informed on what is considered to be an invasion of guild confidentiality or employee privacy rights.In cases of lawsuits and investigations of regulations, exigent messages and e-mail messages are used as the main beginning of evidence. However, according to the 2004 Workpl ace E-mail and Instant Messaging Survey, employers remain largely ill-prepared to manage e-mail and instant messaging risks. It is still not common for businesses to have policies set regarding information technology. Studies have found that 35 percent of companies have any policies set in place and a mere six percent of businesses save electronic business records. However, among those businesses that doThe failure to properly retain e-mail and IM reflects employers failure to tame employees about e-mail and IM risks, rules, and policies. The fact that 37% of respondents either do not know or are unsure about the difference between an electronic business record that must be retained, versus an undistinguished message that may be deleted, suggests that employers are dropping the ball when it comes to effectively managing e-mail and IM use. Company info is not the only thing that is at risk when policies are not in place and implemented. Employee savings bank account information, social security numbers, contact information, and other confidential information should also be a responsibility of the companys. Grifing (2006) lists that 8,500 FedEx employees had their W-2 forms and salaries inadvertently exposed and that is regarding just one company alone. Companies can now collect employee hereditary information in order to read further into the employees to determine whether or not he or she will perform well on a job and other information. Gahtan (1997) reports, Employers may also learn that they could be held liable for e-mail or Internet-related activities of their employees. In most cases, employee e-mail or Usenet postings carry the employers list or trade mark as part of the employees e-mail address. Defamatory, political or religious statements send outside the company by employees may therefore be attributed to the employer.Employers also have an obligation to depict a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. Inappropriate material circulated internally can score a problem. A subsidiary Employee Privacy Rights 4of Chevron Corporation settled a