Electronic Monitoring

felicia_matthews · October 2001

I am a HR Director in California and am seeking guidance on the issue
of electronic monitoring within the workplace. There have been several bills
brought before the Governor, House, et, al in regard to what steps a CA employer must take in notifying its employees that they may be subject to workplace mornitoring, specifically the monitoring of e-mails and internet access. At one time, I read that this type of monitoring would require a separate acknowledgement or notification versus the policy simply being placed in the middle of an employee handbook. Any update in regard to this is appreciated...

dhnyct · October 2001

Also, I'd like to hear how and when some of you actually monitor...routinely, spot-check, only when there is some question or complaint? I am aware of some of the methods to track what sites are being accessed, but is there a way to track the actual time spent? Employees want flexibility, but how do we define and enforce excessive/inappropriate use?

Gar · October 2001

I work for a local government in NC. We don't have a written policy but we will monitor when given "reasonable cause" to do so. This usually comes about as a result of a complaint. We are very careful because as a local government and employer, we have the problem of the constitutionality of monitoring (4th Amendment, unreasonable searches and seizure). In other words, employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy. However, as mentioned before, we will monitor if given cause. This applies to e-mails as well. When we discipline, we consider the amount of time an employee spends surfing the internet for personal reasons as well as the sites he/she visits. Your Information Systems or corporate security people can easily provide you with that information. When I worked for a private employer, one of the arguments for monitoring (based on complaints) was that excessive non-business internet surfing and e-mail usage "impacted legitimate business communications capability." I hope this helps.

Gillian · October 2001

Also in California. There was a bill in the Legislature to require an acknowlegment by each employee but unless I missed it, it has not become law. The bottom line for us in Ca. if that each employee, including those who work for private business, have a constitutional right to privacy so we have to be careful. If you will give me your FAX number I will send you some information. Too much for this form of message. Send it to [email]shugh@westernu.edu[/email]

cedupree · October 2001

In our policy manual, we have a category for electronic communications. The computer equipment was acquired by public funds for the business use of our company. The employees know the computers are not used for personal pleasure, entertainment or personal business. We also tell them the company reserves the right to monitor any employee's email. The employees sign the acknowledgement of the policy handbook, which covers us.

Gracie · October 2001

If you like, you can go to the home page of hrhero.com and click on the words " electronic workplace" within a box at the bottom right hand corner.

You should be able to find wonderful resources to help you with this issue of electronic monitoring. The Special Report on "New Employement Issues in the Electronic Workplace" is especially useful.

Hope these helps.

Electronic Monitoring

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