Colorado Employment Law Blog

City Had Right To Review Employee's Text Messages

If your employees send or receive text messages, e-mails, or otherwise communicate with modern technology while at work, a decision today from the U.S. Supreme Court could impact you. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided that the City of Ontario, California did not violate an employee's Fourth Amendment privacy rights when it reviewed two months’ worth of his text messages, many of which involved non-work related matters (Click here to see the decision on the U.S. Supreme Court's website). 

To read the full article authored by Mark Wiletsky of Holland & Hart's Boulder office, follow this link:  http://www.hollandhart.com/newsitem.cfm?ID=1692

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.