Is Employer Monitoring of Employee E-Mail Justified?

Topics: Employment, Internet, Pornography Pages: 3 (832 words) Published: March 20, 2011
Employee privacy has been a debate for the centuries. In the past it was how an employee conducted themselves away from the workplace because they were representatives of the company. Today in our technological world, it is all about e-mails, social networking sites, internet, voicemail, etc. Is it justified for employers to have these forms of communication monitored? Chauncey M. DePree, Jr. and Rebecca K. Jude in their article, “Who’s Reading Your Office E-mail? Is that Legal?” argue that employer’s do have the right to monitor employee’s e-mail. On the other hand a USA Today article “E-monitoring of Workers Sparks Concerns” brings up the ethical concerns of this type of monitoring. This paper will summarize both perspectives and offer an opinion on the debate.

It is not illegal for companies to monitor their employees’ workplace computer usage. The American Management Association (AMA) conducts a survey each year on electronic monitoring and surveillance. The latest results from 2007 that polled 304 companies are: •68% of employers monitor Internet connections

•65% use software to block connections to inappropriate websites •43% monitor e-mail in which 73% use technology to automatically monitor e-mail and 40% assign an individual to manually read and review e-mail o96% of these employers track external (incoming and outgoing messages) oOnly 58% monitor internal messages

•28% of employers who have fired workers for e-mail misuse cite the following reasons: oViolation of any company policy (64%)
oInappropriate or offensive language (62%)
oExcessive personal use (26%)
oBreach of confidentiality rules (22%)
oOther (12%)
•71% of employers alert employees to e-mail monitoring (AMA/ePolicy Institute 2007 Electronic Monotoring & Surveillance Survey) DePree and Jude endorse employee e-mail monitoring for various reasons. First, it is legal. “As a general rule, when an employee enters the workplace, an employer may monitor and record...
Continue Reading

Please join StudyMode to read the full document

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Is Employer Monitoring of Employee Social Media Justified? Essay

    ...Is Employer Monitoring of Employee Social Media Justified? Bus 330 Social networks have been making a splash in the internet world over the past couple of years. In some studies into the monitoring of social media activity by employees has once again brought to light the various concerns and complaints that this contentious area inevitably generates.  The idea of monitoring employees’ conversations has a certain Orwellian darkness that encourages accusations of privacy invasion and corporate spying.  Indeed, some companies have taken this too far – some reportedly even requesting their employee’s Facebook login details.  However, by and large the concept of employee monitoring – when done appropriately – seems to me to be relatively contentious. Clearly, asking employees for their Facebook passwords is several steps over the line in terms of privacy, but many of the other questions that people have raised about this area seem to make a mountain out of a molehill.  While employees unquestionably have a right to express themselves in private about any issue they choose, if that employee is expressing an opinion in a public forum about their employer then it immediately becomes an area of legitimate interest for that employer. The key distinction seems to be between public and private.  If an employee...

    Read More
    687 Words 3 Pages
  • E-mail and Employee Grievance Essay

    ...MANAGEMENT OF EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE TABLE OF CONTENT Title Page Certification Page Dedication Acknowledgement Abstract CHAPTER ONE 1. INTRODUCTION of “management of employee grievance” 1.1 Background of the Study 1.2 Statement of the Problem 1.3 Purpose of the Study 1.4 Research Question 15 Significance of the Study 1.6 Scope of the Study 1.7 Limitations of the Study 1.8 Definition of Terms CHAPTER TWO 2. LITERATURE REVIEW of “management of employee grievance” 2.1 Definition and Nature of Complaint and Grievance 2.2 Need for Grievance 2.3 Grievance handling in Unionized Organization 2.4 Grievance Handling in Non Unionization Organization 2.5 Use of Grievance form and Grievance Interview in Handling Grievances. 2.6 Grievance Arbitration 2.7 Need for Justice in Grievance Handling 2.8 Supervisory Role in Grievance Handling 2.9 Principle / Role of Grievances Handling Reference CHAPTER THREE 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY of “management of employee grievance” 3.1 Sources of Data 3.2 Population of Study 3.3 Determination of Sample Size 3.4 Sample Technique 3.5 Selection and Construction of Research Instrument 3.6 Administration of Research Instrument 3.7 Instrument Return Rate CHAPTER FOUR 4. DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS of “management of employee grievance” 4.1 Presentation of Data 4.2 Analysis of Data CHAPTER FIVE...

    Read More
    1090 Words 5 Pages
  • Employee Monitoring Essay

    ...head: EMPLOYEE MONITORING Employee Monitoring Employee Monitoring Technological surveillance: In addition to Internet and email monitoring, there are numerous other ways employers can observe the daily activities of their employees. Many employers are resorting to methods of supervision that enable them to monitor not only the quality of work by the employees, but also the quantity of work. Technological surveillance has become commonplace among today's workforce, regardless of whether employees are even aware of the surveillance. Types of employee monitoring that are progressively on the rise include: auditory surveillance such as recording and reviewing telephone conversations and voice mail, and oral exchanges that are transmitted by means other than telephonic. Video and digital cameras, and global positioning satellites monitor visual and physical activities. With a remarkable decrease in cost and increase of accessibility, employers are finding it easier than even to keep a watchful eye on their employees. And as long as said activities are monitored in accordance to law, these types of observations are legal. The technology can however, make it very easy for those doing the monitoring to overstep the boundaries from business-related information to...

    Read More
    579 Words 3 Pages
  • Employee Monitoring Essay

    ...Employee Monitoring: Employer Safeguard or Invasion of Privacy? Sarah L. Voorhees Employee Monitoring: Employer Safeguard or Invasion of Privacy? Employee privacy has been a controversial topic especially with the rise in internet usage, the popularity of social media increasing, and the addition of GPS to mobile devices. With these advances in technology there are numerous ways for employers to monitor their employees’ time at work. According to Evans (2007) as many as eighty percent of the employers, who employ twenty percent of the American population, monitor employees’ telephone conversations, e-mails, and voicemails. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology has made tracking the whereabouts of employees easier rather than tracking only information passed between employees and other individuals. The United States does offer privacy laws to help safeguard employees’ expectations of privacy; however, the laws are formatted around the physical realm such as desk drawers or an employee’s home, not an employee’s computer files or even social networking site (Riego, Abril, & Levin, 2012). It has become apparent that social media is here to stay. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have changed how people communicate in their daily lives and even how organizations do business....

    Read More
    1675 Words 7 Pages
  • Employee Monitoring System Essay

    ...INTRODUCTION * Employee Monitoring is a revolutionary corporate productivity analysis tool. Employee Monitoring monitors and records all activity on a customer's network, including all Web surfing, email, and instant messaging, in order to provide management with detailed information regarding employee performance. Employee Monitoring allows management to simply and quickly assess employees' time and company resource usage in order to determine individual efficiency levels and increase overall productivity. Employee Monitoring helps to mitigate costly liability and litigation risks, target destructive Web behaviors, deter intellectual property and internal data theft, and identify wasted resources. In effect, Employee Monitoring is non-invasive Internet monitoring to achieve greater corporate security, efficiency, and profitability. OBJECTIVES * Employee Monitoring similarly monitors and records all instant messages, including usernames and passwords, and the conversations from both participants. Employee Monitoring performs equally well for email as well. Employee Monitoring targets time usage inefficiencies, spots activities which are against policy prior to their becoming crises, and tracks spyware and hack...

    Read More
    626 Words 3 Pages
  • E-Mail Issues in the Workplace Essay

    ...To: Professor Linda Gold From: Jordan Hooten Subject: E-mail Issues in the Workplace Date: April 4, 2012 Executive Summary: In today’s society it is a guarantee that no matter where or who you work for, you will be using a computer and doing tons of electronic correspondence through e-mail. Few people know that e-mail has been around for almost a hundred years. “If 'e-mail' is loosely defined as 'messages transmitted electronically', then the first 'e-mail messages' would have started in the last century with telegraph messages (by wire) and Morse Code transmissions (via airways)” (University of Maryland, 2002). E-mail as we are familiar with today, has come a long way from its origins in the late 1970’s. The patented “You got mail” was the catchphrase of the 90’s and became a staple in our lives. Little did we as a society know exactly how important that little phrase would become in both our personal and professional lives. E-mail is so widely used in todays workforce that individuals often take it for granted and misuse e-mail. In this presentation there will be discussion about proper e-mail etiquette in work correspondence, privacy issues regarding e-mail at work...

    Read More
    1575 Words 7 Pages
  • Employer-Employee Relations Quiz Essay

    ...Employer-Employee Relations Quiz Name MGT 434/ Employment Law Date Instructor Employer-Employee Relations Quiz The Company of Little Lamb hired Mary as a programmer for a special project. There was a contract for that specific project, and near completion. However, the company was still in need of her services. So, they asked Mary to continue working with the company until the project was finished. There was no mention of any contract made; however, the supervisor of the company began to work directly with Mary. They wanted her to use company materials, equipment and at the same time remain on company work schedules. The company after two years went through financial difficulties and they asked Mary to leave. But a mere thirty days later the Little Lamb Company acquired a major contract. They hired Mary’s relative and never offer her the opportunity to return. Investigation: Is Mary an independent contractor or an employee? Describe the factors that led to her determination. There is a need to know the release of Mary from her employment. The employment-at-will was under action for legal set of guidelines. There are two related questions that needed to be answered first and these are: 1) her status while working at the Company, if she was an independent contractor or an employee; and 2) the nature of the employer-employee relationship, if it...

    Read More
    1458 Words 6 Pages
  • Employer-Employee Relationship Essay

    ...Employer-Employee Relationship Paper The United States government has guidelines that dictate how companies interact with its employees to make sure all parties are equally covered in regards to employment rights. When Mary is let go from her job as a programmer from the Little Lamb Company and then subsequently not rehired when a job opening becomes available some questions arise. In this paper the questions of Mary’s status as an independent contractor or an employee, the employer/employee relationship changes over the course of time, and the release legal under the doctrine of employment-at-will will be addressed and answered. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR/EMPLOYEE The status of Mary being an independent contractor versus employee can always be a tricky point due to the nature of the type of work that is being done. According to the Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide provided by the IRS, “An employer must generally withhold federal income taxes, withhold and pay social security and Medicare taxes, and pay unemployment tax on wages paid to an employee. An employer does not generally have to with- hold or pay any taxes on payments to independent contractors (Department of the Treasury, 2008).” The textbook Employment Law for Business states independent contractors as, “A person who contracts with a principal to perform a task...

    Read More
    1332 Words 6 Pages

Popular Essays

Become a StudyMode Member

Sign Up - It's Free