Supreme Court to Review Employee Privacy in Text Messages

By Mark Wiletsky

 

Many organizations believe they have the right to monitor employees' activities on their computers and the Internet, including the sites they visit and the content of e-mails they send or receive. Such a belief is understandable:  the equipment is provided for business purposes, and organizations can be held responsible if an employee misuses those resources.  Therefore, organizations ought to have the right to check up on employees and make sure their resources are being used appropriately.  Courts have generally agreed and allowed private employers to monitor employees' use of computers and other technology, at least when there is an explicit policy informing employees that they have no right or expectation of privacy when using their employers' technology.