According to the American Management Association, 66% of employers monitor Internet connections and 65% of the companies surveyed use software to block connections to inappropriate websites. Videotaping of employees has also increased, and new surveillance devices have been developed, such as tracking systems that inform employers where employees are and for how long. In fact, 48% of the companies that the American Management Association surveyed use video monitoring to counter theft, violence, and sabotage. Employers have legitimate reasons to inspect and monitor the workplace including protecting confidential information, improving employee productivity, and avoiding liability for harassment, discrimination, and negligent hiring and retention.
Employees also have deeply held privacy expectations and may view even legitimate monitoring as an unjustifiable intrusion. As employers intensify their monitoring of employees in the workplace, employee claims against employers based on improper monitoring and surveillance increase. Employers can avoid potential liability for privacy claims by adhering to the relatively few legal restrictions that do exist and by diminishing employee privacy expectations in the workplace.
One very critical rule to remember is that privacy rights are created by expectations. Employers should identify possible searches, surveillance and monitoring and advise employees in writing of those so no expectation...
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