Is Your E-Mail Being Read By Your Employer?
Modern day technology brought to the workplace e-mails which resulted in increased productivity and communication. The downside to having open communications is that company information could be leaked or the e-mail account could be used in other unlawful manners. Employers have the right to regulate their e-mail accounts and Internet activities of employees, but there is a fine line between protecting a company and using their power to breach employee rights. The Pennsylvania employee rights lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily (http://www.reiffandbily.com) have been researching and handling many employee rights cases since 1979.
Employers have the right to protect their information, usually confidential information such as phone numbers, customer’s names and how much they pay for services, or trade secrets, from being released to other companies. This information may be purposely or mistakenly sent out by an employee. E-mail could also be used too harass or discriminate against other employees. Internet use and personal use of work e-mail accounts might also decrease productivity. Often, companies will also include a disclaimer in the footer of e-mails.
Companies should always make their e-mail policies known. This includes listing risks associated with e-mailing, including or excluding personal use of work e-mails, making prohibited conduct known and defining what type of materials are not suitable, breach of confidence, e-mail tone (such as using names), discipline (warnings or other punishment), and if e-mailing is monitored. Companies could also train employees in proper use, set up monitoring policies and guidelines, and retention policies. If a company fires an employee without proper guidelines or made it known that the employee’s conduct violated company policy, that company could be liable for breaching their employee’s rights.
Companies are usually given a right to check company e-mails. Unnecessary screening of e-mails, or even improper monitoring of work e-mails, could result in employee rights being breached. This could also apply to the company checking personal e-mail accounts. In a recent case, Scott Sidell was fired from his job and had his personal e-mail account screened by his former employer. The company was worried that Sidell was e-mailing company information to others and used his personal account that he left on one of their computers. Their intrusion into his personal account could very well be a breach of privacy among other types of offenses. For more information about this issue, please read http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/technology/27mail.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1214922544-lHTgiO7AlwXILd+GP4mOYw.
The Pennsylvania employee rights lawyers at Reiff and Bily (http://www.reiffandbily.com) work on a contingent fee basis, charging a small percentage of the recovery. They will not get paid one cent unless there is a successful recovery. They have had handled many employee right cases and have successfully recovered in excess of $150 million dollars from their opponents for physical injuries, wrongful terminations, and emotional damages.
If you are in need of an attorney because you were wrongfully terminated or had other employment rights violated, please call the experienced Pennsylvania employee rights lawyers at the law firm of Reiff and Bily (http://www.reiffandbily.com).
