Employee monitoring

eddice · May 2004

Installation of new computer protection software (SurfControl) has resulted in huge morale problems. When email has been blocked (captured) because of content, the network administrator reads the email and decides whether to release the email or not. The software's initial settings were so strict that even forwarding an email with a resume attached was blocked per the "gambling" dictionary. It turns out the candidate had worked previously at a casino. There are hundreds of examples but essentially this equates to censorship by one individual. I am interested in what other organizations are doing particularly to balance the rights of employees. Have you read the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Title 18 USC 2511) and do you feel that intercepting email is a violation of employee rights?

dwms · May 2004

I don't think anyone likes the idea of employee monitoring. However, employers are also held liable if they do not control certain types of activities in the workplace.

We have included language in all our computer use policies making it clear that computers/services are provided for company business and users can have no expectation of privacy. Also, we have a brief statement to that effect that pops up whenever a user logs in, which must be accepted prior to proceeding.

We don't host our own email, but our provider's first attempts to block certain words also led to some irritation. It took a good deal of tweaking to come up with a workable system.

Once you are comfortable you have a "list" that is workable, is there any way to automate the program whereby anything "caught" is simply returned to sender with a polite apology message indicating it was deemed undeliverable by the "surfcontrol" program, to please check the content and re-send. This would take your administrator out of the censor role and put it back in the hands of the communicants.

eddice · May 2004

We have a very detailed computer policy that every employee signs off on. Your suggestion is excellent. I will see if that option is available.

System · May 2004

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-26-04 AT 06:46AM (CST)[/font][br][br]The policy is a very good idea, and we have one, too. I'd be glad to send a copy of ours if you'd like to see it. Employees should not expect electronic privacy in the workplace, because their only activities should be business related and therefore, they should not need privacy. Sound harsh? Maybe, but we have a lot of internet surfers and email addicts here, and this policy is needed here.
PS: Sorry, I have a splitting headache and didn't mean to sound too harsh!

deniseE · May 2004

We had a program here for a while that was designed to filter out emails with "bad" words and notify the intended recipient that they received email from ____that could not be delivered due to content.

However, the email would actually read" _____sent you and email comtaining "*&!#" and we are unable to deliver it.

Lead to a lot of laughs...since we were now only seeing the offensive words and not the context.

Rob S · May 2004

We had an e-mail blocking program that blocked all e-mails from an employee whose last name is Sexton (SEXton). I was very aggravating, because this system just did not deliver it (no notification), so we did not know for quite a while what was going on.

Good luck on this.

Rob Shuster

eddice · May 2004

Yes, this program definitely would block an employee from reporting sexual harassment via email. And then the network administrator would be allowed to read the content of that email, now knowing very sensitive and confidential information. This software even blocked an email that contained the word "silly" because of the grammer dictionary. Part of our frustration is that the network administrator gets to use HIS personal values and discretion. I was trying to get to some imbedded links from Fidelity, our 401k provider and was blocked. When I pursued this I was told only a logo was blocked and it wasn't 'pertinent'. As a senior manager I believe I should decided whether the blocked material is pertinent. In this case the logo was part of a brochure that I needed to disribute.

eddice · May 2004

You didn't sound harsh at all - hope your headache is gone by now though. I actually think we have a very good (and strong) policy but it would be helpful to look at others. Send me a copy when you have time.

[email]ecornelius@tusconfcu.com[/email]

marc · May 2004

Employees have no rights with respect to the companies information and technology assets, but, as others have stated, the company sure has plenty of liability exposure.

Employee monitoring

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