Posted by Sunday on August 31, 2006, at 8:34:46
In reply to Re: Privacy - Following up by posting v. babblemail, posted by wacky on August 1, 2006, at 12:08:49
I concur completely with Wacky and have had a human resources department in a mid-sized company (350 employees) report to me in the state of Virginia. I would add that most states have "employment at will" laws and employers can (and do) fire staff members based on written material (even e-mail correspondence) produced on company-owned computers. There is absolutely no expectation of privacy and ergo any and all "postings" to a message/bulletin board are open to their perusal and evaluation. Employers using Employment at Will can fire you without providing any details or specificity on their rationale. A lack of confidence is quite sufficient for release from any position of significant responsibility. For most professional employees, using a work computer to post on Babble or related websites is a very bad idea.
> I concur with what's been said about privacy and can confirm that there is no expectation of privacy - in any use of the computer, your desk, your work space, etc. (this is California law). Once you walk into the door at work, you are there to serve your employer - and all equipment belongs to the employer. Therefore, your employer has every right to inspect every aspect of your work space (not your purse however). There remains a question whether an employer can monitor personal telephone calls made during a lunch break. My instinct says that goes too far - but you never know. So, use extreme caution, aside from the fact that most employers either forbid or frown on using work computer for personal use.
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> (I am a licensed attorney in California - so rules may be different in other states.)
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poster:Sunday
thread:666248
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/work/20060706/msgs/681678.html