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Return to HR Issues & Laws
CBIA's Electronic Monitoring Poster
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To monitor or not?
E-mail and Internet use in the workplace
If you think e-mail and Internet use by employees doesn’t concern
you, says Attorney Roseann Padula, consider the fact that workplace use
is growing exponentially. Two years ago 15% of employees had Internet
access; today it’s 2/3 of all employees. And if your employees
are already on-line, consider this: it’s estimated that 25% of
all company Internet use is unrelated to corporate purposes.
According to Padula, who practices with the law firm of Sullivan, Schoen,
Campane & Connon and is an expert on legal issues related to electronic
communications in the workplace, e-mail and Internet use raises some
new concerns, such as virus transmissions and unintentional addressing.
And it also intensifies traditional concerns, such as productivity loss
and theft of trade secrets and other confidential information. Particularly
in the area of sexual harassment and other types of harassment, there
is the potential for tremendous liability regarding distribution of pictures
and the content of messages.
Padula spoke recently at a meeting of CBIA’s Human Resources Council,
where she shared some tips on how employers can minimize their liability
in this area.
Develop a policy
An important first step is an effective policy on e-mail and Internet
use. A sound policy should:
- State that the purpose of the policy is to facilitate business communications
and minimize potential liability
- Clarify that there should be no expectation of employee privacy,
even if passwords are confidential
- Reserve your right to monitor computer and Internet use
- Hold employees accountable for drafting e-mail messages and using
the system with care
- Restrict or totally prohibit personal and non-business use
- Provide examples of prohibited uses, such as disseminating inappropriate
material, trespassing in others’ files, and unauthorized downloading
or installation of software
- Warn that misuse or abuse will result in discipline
- Contain an employee sign-off acknowledging receipt and understanding
of the policy
Other preventive steps
Other strategies suggested by Padula:
- Educate and train employees. Remind employees of your Internet
Use policy periodically; consider displaying an on screen reminder whenever
users log onto the system. Include the policy in the employee handbook
if you have one. Hold training sessions for users on proper Internet
and e-mail etiquette and the potentially dangerous characteristics of
the Internet.
- Consider monitoring software. Although still in its infancy
and not foolproof, monitoring and filtering software can be used
to block access to pornographic sites or to time wasting sites. Also
consider
tracking the sites that employees visit frequently, a step that’s
helpful in terms of discipline.
- Protect confidential communications. Label communications such
as those between attorney and client as "confidential" or "privileged" and
instruct employees not to read those communications. Include "Do
Not Forward" instructions on the communications.
- Pay attention to network security. Be mindful of who has access.
Final advice
Finally, says Padula, don’t be afraid to assert your legal rights.
This is still a developing area of the law, often with no precedent,
but so far it has favored employers with respect to monitoring. As with
most other workplace matters, if you use common sense and act for business
related purposes, you should be ahead of the game.
Related links:
CBIA sells an Electronic Monitoring poster as a part of the Complete
Poster Compliance Kit. You no longer have to search everywhere to meet
the state and federal posting requirements. CBIA has all the posters
you need to stay in compliance in one, simple kit. Posters are sold separately.
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