Employee text messages protected, even when using employer- provided equipment
A recent Supreme Court ruling holds that employee text messages are protected by the constitutional right to privacy, even if the employee is using employer-provided equipment to send those messages, and despite employer policies stating employees have no expectation of privacy when using such equipment. Only when there is a clear, legitimate and documented violation of the rules of use of such equipment can the 4th Amendment protection not apply, the court said.
The ruling was issued in the case of a City of Ontario, California employee who used his city provided cell phone extensively for personal communications and had argued that those messages were protected under the 4th Amendment right to privacy. Importantly, the court granted the reasonable expectation to privacy argument set forth by the employee, but ruled that because an audit had found significant overage charges on his account, the city did have a legitimate and reasonable right to review the texts to ensure the employee was not abusing the privilege.
The point for business owners here is that they must be aware of what steps to follow before reviewing an employees electronic communications, even on company provided-equipment.
Employers are encouraged to do a thorough review of employee internet, e-mail and cell phone policies and make sure they contain language which limits an employees expectation of privacy in their use of company-provided technology which restricts an employees legitimate use of the technology during work time to work-related texts or e-mails.
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