Considerable attention is given to the protection of the privacy rights of employees. Statutes and case law have expanded the things about which an employer cannot inquire, while at the same time attempting to preserve the employer’s interest in efficiency and productivity.
Invasion of privacy is a recognized common-law claim an employee can assert against an employer. It generally occurs in four forms:
Intrusion involves an invasion, not necessarily physical, into an area in which a reasonable expectation of privacy exists. Employees, of course, surrender many of their privacy rights when they enter the workplace. For example: Employers have a legitimate interest and generally are entitled to search lockers, work areas, tool kits and automobiles in the parking lot. The right to search, however, may be lost if the employer has given employees an expectation of privacy, for instance, by allowing employees to put private locks on their lockers and tool boxes.
Although it generally is legal to search employees as they leave...
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