Employee Privacy Rights

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Today's workplace has many pitfalls when it comes to employee privacy rights. While your employer is permitted to monitor certain aspects of your job in regards to business reasons, these things are limited to very specific things. Employers are not allowed to monitor your private communications or what you do when you're not at work (such as on breaks or before or after your shift). If you feel that you have been the victim of an invasion of privacy while at work, your attorney through our Legal Protection Subscription Plans for Individuals & Families may be able to help. A dedicated, experienced employment attorney will be able to give you advice and answer questions specific to your situation at no additional cost. Learn more about all the benefits of membership and read on for a brief overview of the types and kinds of privacy protection you should expect at work.

In the United States, employees have rights regarding their privacy at work, including email privacy, social media privacy, and personal privacy, prohibiting surveillance by management or other employees. These rights are constitutional rights, court decisions, and federal and state laws that act as legal protections prohibiting employers from disclosing employees' personal information. An example is the 1974 Federal Privacy Act that protects employees private information, requiring that government agencies protect this information from being disclosed without the employees' consent. Some states also have additional laws protecting employees personal information, including medical and financial information.

There is an additional "common law" privacy right that workers have that comes from court decisions, giving employees the right to maintain privacy of some information from the employer. One case involved a worker keeping her pregnancy private from her employer.

Employers monitor workers all the time for security purposes, but they are prohibited from monitoring employee actions, including Internet and email activity. The same laws that prohibit other areas of workplace privacy also prohibit employers from reading employee emails without consent. The Stored Communications Act prohibits employers from accessing or disclosing the contents of emails without the employee's consent, and this also extends to Internet activity.

Further, employers are not allowed to monitor employees' social media activity, including accessing posts, private messages, photos, or comments without a "business need" to do so. What does this mean? An example might be if one employee is sending threatening messages to another employee. The employer would then be able to access the private messages as part of an investigation.

However, when it comes to telephone calls, employees only have a limited right to privacy, as employers are allowed to monitor employee calls for business purposes, such as to make sure employees are staying within company policy or in cases of misconduct. This does not mean that your employer can listen to personal phone calls to ascertain who the employee is talking to or what they're discussing.

Employers have the right to video surveillance for "business purposes." Typically, this means that employers can use video equipment for security, workplace safety, or to monitor misconduct. However, these cannot be used to watch employees on breaks or to see what they're doing when they're not at work.

Employers also cannot open and monitor Postal mail meant for employees, as the USPS has strict rules about how employee mail can and cannot be handled by employers and mail meant for employees cannot be intercepted by your employer.

Another area of employee privacy that has become more prominent recently is tracking with the use of GPS. This is seen most often in the trucking and shipping industries, and it is used to keep track of freight and trucks, prevent theft, and to find ways to make the process more efficient. Although this kind of technology can be used to track employees, as well, it is prohibited unless the employee has given their consent.

Employers are generally prohibited from conducting physical searches of an employee's person, personal items, or personal workplace unless there is a legitimate business reason to do so, such as investigating theft or misconduct, but the employer must still get the employee's consent unless the employer has a legal warrant from the court that is served by law enforcement.

An employer can conduct credit checks and background checks to help determine if a potential employee has a criminal record or if they are stable financially. With few exceptions, these kinds of checks cannot be conducted without the employees' consent.

Privacy rights when you work from home - which much more common today than it used to be - are very similar to rights afforded at a traditional workplace. Your employer is not allowed to invade your privacy, but they are typically allowed to access data and files on equipment that belongs to them, or monitor the usage of such devices. Make sure you understand your company's privacy policy before agreeing to work from home.

Knowing what rights to privacy you have as an employee at work is essential. If you have concerns about privacy violations at work, contact your attorney through our Legal Protection Plans for Individuals & Families right away, and get answers to questions and advice for your specific situation at no additional cost or sign up today!