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Invasion Of Privacy

Invasion of Privacy?
Is it invasion of privacy for employers to monitor employee email and Internet usage? Many employees think nothing of sending jokes, chain letters, and emails of a personal nature through company email. Furthermore, surfing the Internet for non-business purposes on company time appears to be commonplace. However, employees fail to understand the high exposure for such activities to their employers. Allowing Internet and email privileges to employees expose employers to a multitude of risks, making it imperative that employers monitor such activity.
The first and foremost risk employers face is that of liability—are employers liable for computer activity performed by employees of a personal nature?   According to the definition of vicarious liability and the results of various lawsuits, the answer is yes.   Vicarious liability is defined as “the liability an employer might have for the actions of his or her employees” (Miller & Weckert, 2000, p. 261). With this in mind, employers must take actions to protect not only themselves, but their employees as well, against unlawful activities in regards to harassment and copyright infringement. Employees send jokes, pictures, and chain letters on company email on a daily basis, not realizing how this may affect the receiver, whether intentional or unintentional. According to a recent survey of 840 businesses conducted by the American Management Association (AMA) and The ePolicy Institute, 13% have been involved in a lawsuit stemming from employee email (Flynn, n.d., para. 1). Companies like Chevron, Morgan Stanley, and Microsoft Corporations all have found themselves spending time and money defending themselves in court against harassment charges.   In fact, Chevron was ordered to pay over 2 million dollars in compensation to four female employees after the women filed discrimination charges against them.   These discrimination charges stemmed from the women receiving an email entitled   “Why beer is...