Privacy Issues in the Workplace

the argument, determining that although the employee had a legitimate expectation of privacy in his workplace office, his employer retained the ability to consent to a search at that office and the employer-owned computer. The employer’s IT department had complete access to all employer’s computers; the company had a firewall that monitored internet traffic; the company advised employees of its monitoring activities through employee training and an employment manual; and the company told all employees that computers were company-owned and not to be used for activities of a personal nature. Wasson v. Sonoma County Jr. College Dist. 448 A terminated community college district employee asserted a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 claim against the district for allegedly invading her privacy by accessing her computer files, in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. The Court determined that the claim lacked merit because a computer policy giving the community college district “the right to access all information stored on district computers” precluded any employee expectation of privacy in the computer files. United States v. Angevine 449 The court determined that a University Professor who downloaded, printed and then attempted to delete over 3,000 pornographic images had no legitimate claim for violation of the Fourth Amendment. Not only did University Policy specifically caution employees that information on the network was not confidential and was subject to random audits, but Angevine’s own careless attempts at deleting the files showed that he himself did not take sufficient action towards maintaining his own privacy interest. Deal v. Spears 450 An owner of a store that had been burglarized installed a recording device to automatically and surreptitiously record all telephone conversations in the hope of identifying whether the criminal activity was an “inside job.” The court found that the employer’s request to the employee to restrict the frequency of her personal telephone calls and a warning that the calls might be monitored failed to provide sufficient notice that employee telephone conversations would be tape-recorded. Biby v. Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska 451 The University terminated Biby, a technology and transfer coordinator, for misrepresenting himself and his authority to a private technology company that later threatened litigation against the University. To investigate the threatened litigation, the University, among other things, searched Biby’s work computer files. Biby alleged that the search of his computer violated his constitutional privacy rights. The district court disagreed, granting the University’s summary judgment motion, and the Eighth Circuit affirmed. The Court reasoned that public employers may intrude upon constitutionally protected privacy interests

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