 This presentation is not a implication, accusation or insinuation of GPC’s policy and procedures for monitoring employees.  This presentation is for information and entertainment purposes only!

 While it is true employees have workplace privacy rights, it is also true that employer’s have privacy rights.  They have the right to invade your privacy.

 Using sophisticated software, hidden cameras, phone-tapping devices, "smart card" security badges and global- positioning technology, employers may electronically snoop employee:  Computer keystrokes and files  Internet, Web and usage  Locations, movements and activities  Phone conversations and numbers dialed  Job performance

 Such monitoring is virtually unregulated. Therefore, unless company policy specifically states otherwise (and even this is not assured), your employer may listen, watch and read most of your workplace communications.

According to the most-recent, often-cited Electronic Monitoring and Surveillance published by the American Management Association (AMA) and The ePolicy Institute, most of the employers surveyed indicated that they subjected their employees to electronic surveillance in some way, shape or form; for example: 73% monitored messages 66% monitored Web surfing 48% monitored with video surveillance 45% monitored keystrokes and keyboard time 43% monitored computer files

 Advancements in technology, employer abuse or monitoring systems, and the lack of legislation protecting employees have all sparked concern for employee privacy.  American workers have almost no legal protection from employers who want to poke or prod into their personal lives.  Few workers realize that there is no federal law that protects their privacy on the job.

 While stipulations on employee privacy parameters vary from state to state, legal experts state that private sector employees have fewer rights than they commonly believe.  “There is no general federal or state law creating or protecting a zone of privacy in the workplace," wrote George Webster in Association Management. “

 In fact, the ACLU receives more complaints about workplace rights violations than about any other issue.  The ACLU continues to fight for employees' right to privacy by challenging how those rights are violated by employers.

 The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment free-speech clause and the Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures apply only to action by the government, not to private-sector employers….  By and large, employees leave their constitutional rights at the workplace door. A few state constitutions do extend speech and search protection to private-sector employees.

 Today's presentation entails the following topics:  Telephone Monitoring  Computer Monitoring  Electronic Mail and Voice Mail  Video Monitoring  Data Badge Surveillance

 Eavesdropping and phone tapping are the most common methods of monitoring used by employers. Most people link phone tapping with some sort of police or FBI work, but it is commonplace in businesses, from retail stores to government offices.

 Can my employer listen to my phone calls at work?  Are my conversations with co-workers subject to monitoring?  Can my employer obtain a record of my calls.

 If you have a computer terminal at your job, it may be your employer's window into your workspace. There are several types of computer monitoring.

 Employers can use computer software that enables them to see what is on the screen or stored in the employees' computer terminals and hard disks.  Employers use software that can keep track of the amount of time an employee spends away from the computer or idle time at the terminal.

 Is my employer allowed to see what is on my terminal while I am working?  How can I tell if I am being monitored at my terminal?

 Is electronic mail and voice mail private?  When I delete messages, are they still in the system?  Is there ever a circumstance in which my messages are private?  Are my text messages on an employer- provided cell phone private?

In 2010 Maryland corrections officer Robert Collins approached the ACLU of Maryland late last year, disturbed that he was required to provide his Facebook login and password to the Maryland Division of Corrections (DOC) during a recertification interview. He had to sit there while the interviewer logged on to his account and read not only his postings, but those of his family and friends too.

Can employers use video monitoring in the workplace?

In April 2005 a case brought by the ACLU of Southern California, a federal judge ruled that Ontario police officers' rights under both federal and state law were violated when a police detective installed a video camera in a men's locker room to spy on the officers.

 An active badge is a credit card sized badge that an employee wears on the outside of his or her clothing so movement can be monitored in a building using his or her unique ID.

 Are there any laws that deal with workplace privacy?  Currently there are very few laws regulating employee monitoring. If you are concerned about this issue, contact your federal legislators, especially the members of the House and Senate Labor committees in Congress.

 Employers must notify employees and applicants of electronic monitoring policies  Prior to monitoring, employers must provide a visual or aural signal to employees and any customers  Employers must provide employee access to all data obtained by electronic monitoring  Employees have the right to a grievance procedure to dispute inaccurate or misleading data

 Employers are prohibited from using electronic monitoring to obtain data that is not relevant to work performance  Areas subject to monitoring are restricted and cannot include rest rooms, locker rooms and lounges  All data collected is to be of limited use and cannot be used for an employee evaluation or to introduce disciplinary actions against an employee  Employers are prohibited from disclosing personal data without prior employee consent

 “Don’t do anything you don’t want monitored.”

 Workplace Fairness [18]Affiliated with the National Employment Lawyers Association,  American Civil Liberties Union 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY (212) Publications Ordering: ACLU (2258) Web:

 National Work Rights Institute 166 Wall St. Princeton, NJ (609) Web:  9 to 5, the National Association of Working Women 207 East Buffalo St., #211 Milwaukee, WI (414) Hotline (800) Web:

 Workplace Fairness "Surveillance at Work" nce nce  National Workrights Institute “Video Voyeurism: Employer Video Monitoring of Bathrooms and Locker Rooms” /em_videomonitoring.html /em_videomonitoring.html  National Labor Relations Board Advice Memorandum RE: ABC, Case 31-CA Memos/1997/p051297_abc.htm 20Memos/1997/p051297_abc.htm