Market Areas > Human Resources > Monitoring Electronic Communications

Monitoring Electronic Communications and Employees’ Expectation of Privacy

Course Description:

The computer, the Blackberry and the T1 line belong to the company, therefore, all communications made over these can be monitored by the employer, right? Not so fast.

Recent cases have shown that employees increasingly have more privacy rights than they might expect when it comes to the corporate email server:

• U.S. District Court for D.C. found that an employee may have a reasonable expectation of privacy in personal communications sent over an employer’s email system.
• N.J. Supreme Court ruled a former employee had a reasonable expectation of privacy in e-mail exchanged with her personal attorney through a personal, web-based e-mail account even though those communications were stored on a company-issued laptop.
• A federal appeals court in San Francisco came down on the side of employee privacy, ruling employers that contract with an outside business to transmit text messages can't read them unless the worker agrees.

Cases like these serve as a reminder to employers of the importance of establishing and maintaining clear policies regarding employees’ personal use of employer owned equipment.

Ask yourself:

1. Has your company established and maintained a clear, well-drafted electronic resources policy? 
2. Have you created guidelines for handling potentially privileged communications discovered on your information systems? 
3. Are you fully documenting violations of company policy to determine whether and to what extent the employee should be disciplined?

In this critical audio conference, privacy expert, Bart Lazar, Partner with Seyfarth Shaw LLC, will arm you with the tools you need to establish and maintain a clear, concise electronic resources policy.  Key topics covered, include:

• Effects new technologies continue to have on workplace privacy issues
• Defining “reasonable expectation of privacy”: What does it mean in today’s workplace?
• Best practices for employers to implement now to prevent problems in the future
• Policies every employer should include in their handbook today
• Developing comprehensive computer and electronic equipment usage policies that work in your organization
• Consistency is key:  Implementing and enforcing practices and policies consistently
• Maintaining currency: Revising and updating policies to reflect current technologies
• Employee acknowledgement: Is this necessary to bulletproof your policy?

Featured Faculty:

Bart A. Lazar, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw, LLC

Mr. Lazar is a partner in the Chicago office. Mr. Lazar brings well over a decade of privacy and security leadership and experience to the table. Mr. Lazar counsels clients on privacy and security strategy and compliance matters regarding federal and state laws, regulations and self-regulatory guidelines, including international data collection and transfer, state data security breach notification statutes, Internet privacy and security, workplace privacy and security issues, social networking, advertising, promotion and sweepstakes, CAN-SPAM, endorsements, social networking, financial, health care and children’s privacy issues.

Mr. Lazar has developed and implemented privacy/security strategies for multi-national companies in a variety of industries, including on- and off-line retailers and consumer product manufacturers. Mr. Lazar has provided privacy and security training for in-house legal and compliance departments, as well as IT staff and employees who handle personal information.

MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE:

We're so confident you'll get what you want out of this conference that we'll refund every penny if you're not completely satisfied. No questions asked! It's 100% risk-free!

Pricing:

Unable to Attend?  Order the CD!
Your CD recording includes the complete audio conference presentation, audience Q&A and presentation materials.

APPROVED FOR RECERTIFICATION CREDIT:

HRCI - Receive 1.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI homepage at www.hrci.org. "The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute’s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit."

Each CCM event presents a variety of information and is presented for each organization to develop its own approach and methodology.