tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post3638133535297637332..comments2024-03-26T22:42:06.412-07:00Comments on TAG Blog: Are your studio e-mails confidential?Steve Huletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05537689111433326847noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-38613276533983720362008-06-24T10:02:00.000-07:002008-06-24T10:02:00.000-07:00The Quon case involved a policeman whose personal ...The <I>Quon</I> case involved a policeman whose personal messages exceeded the monthly texting limits on his official pager. He was told by his immediate supervisor that as long as he paid the overages, the department would not read the contents of his messages. However, the department had a written policy that they had the right to monitor message content, and the department head requested and received a transcript from the wireless company. The policeman sued the wireless company for violation of his Fourth Amendment rights, and the court and the Ninth Circuit found in his favor.<BR/><BR/>The three sites I cited above have pretty different interpretations of how this ruling can be interpreted, but I think <A HREF="http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2008/06/employee-imtexte-mailvoicecomputerinter.html" REL="nofollow">the Hackigations post</A> has a point, that as long as the employer's inspection policy is clearly stated in writing, it can probably be enforced.<BR/><BR/>A few contract cycles ago, we were in negotiations with an employer who was making some very controversial demands. The employees got wind of what was going on and exchanged internal e-mails about it. The employer's labor relations VP showed up at the next negotiations with a stack of printouts of the offending e-mails, and demanded we tell our members to knock it off.<BR/><BR/>As Hackigations says, companies have a reasonable expectation that their employees won't circulate e-mails that, for example, violate sexual or racial harassment policies and statutes. In the case of our negotiations, the employees had the legally protected right to discuss union issues in the workplace <I>on their own time</I>, but management had the right to complain if the e-mail time stamps showed they were sent during working hours.<BR/><BR/>In light of <I>Quon</I>, management will probably be more careful than they were in our past negotiations, so you're likely to see more warnings about email policy, and a greater effort at consistency in enforcing the policy. But it's unlikely they will surrender their inspection prerogatives quite so easily.<BR/><BR/>Bottom line: your employer almost certainly has a written e-mail policy, and you should make sure you know what it is –- and follow it.Jeff Massiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01025023288241410877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906998.post-30936902013139509802008-06-24T06:25:00.000-07:002008-06-24T06:25:00.000-07:00Jeff: The Quon case may give employers incentive ...Jeff: The Quon case may give employers incentive to broadcast multiple, repetitive privacy disclaimers. What do you think? --Ben <A HREF="http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2008/06/employee-imtexte-mailvoicecomputerinter.html" REL="nofollow">http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2008/06/employee-imtexte-mailvoicecomputerinter.html</A>Benjamin Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11543639411820745571noreply@blogger.com