Surveillance Software Privacy Legislation and Article Review

Also, employees should be mindful of what they post on social networking sites, even if done from their home computer.

Employers should always be aware of what is considered a reasonable expectation of privacy. In certain industries, workplace monitoring may be necessary so that the company can protect itself. In the case of an organization that deals with the well being of children, even with thorough background checks performed it may still be necessary to monitor the employee's website usage or set up surveillance cameras in designated areas. Hillside, Inc. is a company that assists abused and neglected children and has a policy that any Web site an employee visits could be monitored. The company found that pornographic websites were access on its computers during off hours and set up surveillance cameras in a shared office in hopes of catching the perpetrator. The employees sharing the monitored office filed a lawsuit claiming their right to privacy was violated.Initially, a judgement was ruled in favor of Hillside, Inc. However, after an appeal by the plaintiffs, the ruling was overturned.

Workplace privacy is not a matter of whether or not an employee will be monitored because in most cases they will be. Given this, employees have an obligation to the company and to themselves to perform personal business from their home computers and not on the company's time using company property. By doing this, stress can be minimized while boosting employee morale making for a more productive workplace.

Bibliography

Dillenberger, Cassandra, "Workplace Privacy: A Changing Landscape," Contractor's

Business Management Report 10, (October 2009): 1, 10-12.

Friedman, Barry A. And Lisa J. Reed, "Workplace Privacy: Employee Relations and Legal Implications of Monitoring Employee E-mail Use," Employee

Responsibilities and Rights Journal 19, no. 2, (2007): 75-83.

Barry A. Friedman and Lisa J. Reed, "Workplace Privacy: Employee Relations and Legal Implications of Monitoring Employee E-mail Use," Employee Responsibilities and Rights.....