legal issues

[rijilv]

Pretty much, his computer, his to do as he likes........as it has already been said as above, there might be some muddy water with not showing/signing any disclaimers, but I'm sure in your general contract you agreed to anything he wants to do/when he wants to do it without notifying you, etc......

[ammo]

Alright, let me start by refering to these sites:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/workplace/
http://infosecuritymag.techtarget.co...art309,00.html
The later being a very apropos rehash and "contextualisation" of these laws (or lack thereof)...

Now, in my own words, the law (in the US at least) isn't clear cut as to when spying is acceptable or what are the expectations of privacy in the workplace (related to computer use) or as to when these expectations are violated...
Currently, it would seem that at minimum, en employer needs at minimum to have a very clear and explicitly written AUP; and by explicit, it should state what form of monitoring can be/is being done, for what purposes, what constitutes a violation, what concequences can be expected for each sort of violation... Furthermore, just having the employee read the policy might not be enough depending on the location and/or circumstances, and thus the policy should probably be signed as to acknowledge that both parties are aware and concentent to monitoring.

Also, be aware that uneven enforcement of the policy, such as only or repeatedly monitoring one particular user might be considered discrimination or perhaps even harassment and make you liable... As my computer ethics professor put it, "corporate policies must be reminded regularly and be enforced evenly (don't choose your "targets" just because you don't like them) and consistently (apply the same consequences to the same violations every time; no preferential treatment) if you want your policy to hold in court.

Originally posted here by voodoochild
They never had any of the employees sign anything saying that our computer activities would be monitored. Also they have all these security cameras that are aimed at employees instead of where I would think you would want them if someone broke into the place or anything. Im also sure the place is miked. But no, they never had us sign anything

IANAL, but this could well be illegal (depending, of course...). If this really bothers you or your colegues you might consider consulting a lawyer...

Originally posted here by Tiger Shark
Ok... I'll assume you are in the USA but the answer will apply to many countries I think....

It's your work network... They _own_ it.... It's theirs to do with as they please... Now there might be some question if you aren't warned that "anything you do on the work network may be monitored and breach of company policies could lead to disciplinary action up to and including termination".

While it's true that they own the infrastructure, and that I would agree that they can do what they please with it (as far as access restriction or such protests we regularly see posted here from highschool weiners), expectation of privacy is a diffrent beast and it is not given that the employer can spy on employees at their will...

I don't keylog workstations, (I have 650'ish), I can watch you messing around by watching your desktop as you play when you trigger my intrusion detection systems.... I take the screenshots and send them to your supervisor.... It's perfectly legal - because every three months to the day I send you a message telling you that I _can_ do it, I _do_ do it and I will have you fired if you break the rules laid down in the rest of this email.....

Since you have responded since I started.... You don't need to have signed _anything_ if I can prove you have been shown the policies....

That's not clear cut, would seem to depend on state jurisdiction /judge interpretation as to wether you consent to forfeit your expectation to privacy.

Originally posted here by spamdies
If the boss has authority of the office workstations then yes is legal. Personally I occasionally like to walk up behind someone at a workstation and have them browse their history file. It's not a necessity; I just like to make them sweat.

Walking up beihind someone without reason might be considered harassment if not done consistently to every employee.


Also, keep in mind that workplace privacy laws or general liberties laws vary greatly from country to country. For example, in France, in 2001, a judgment was rendered by the "Court de cassation" (which I believe is France's top court, correct me if I'm wrong) in Nikon France vs M. Onof in which it was found that Nikon didn't have the right to look into M. Onof e-mail folder entitled "personnel".

http://www.courdecassation.fr/agenda...9-42942arr.htm
(Sorry, I don't feel like translating it all right now...)

Vu l'article 8 de la Convention européenne de sauvegarde des droits de l'homme et des libertés fondamentales, l'article 9 du Code civil, l'article 9 du nouveau Code de procédure civile et l'article L. 120-2 du Code du travail ;

Attendu que le salarié a droit, même au temps et au lieu de travail, au respect de l'intimité de sa vie privée ; que celle-ci implique en particulier le secret des correspondances ; que l'employeur ne peut dès lors sans violation de cette liberté fondamentale prendre connaissance des messages personnels émis par le salarié et reçus par lui grâce Ã* un outil informatique mis Ã* sa disposition pour son travail et ceci même au cas où l'employeur aurait interdit une utilisation non professionnelle de l'ordinateur ;

Attendu que pour décider que le licenciement de M. Onof était justifié par une faute grave, la cour d'appel a notamment retenu que le salarié avait entretenu pendant ses heures de travail une activité parallèle ; qu'elle s'est fondée pour établir ce comportement sur le contenu de messages émis et reçus par le salarié, que l'employeur avait découverts en consultant l'ordinateur mis Ã* la disposition de M. Onof par la société et comportant un fichier intitulé "personnel" ;

Anyways, I guess the point is, administrators and employers, don't assume you can don anything and everything and respect your employees, after all your company is nothing without them; employees, serve your employers fairly, don't abuse of services they offer, you are there to work after all...


Ammo