Questions & Answers

Can a company monitor or trace computer email to and from an employee, or monitor or track phone traffic to and from an employee without their knowledge?

An employer's need for information should be balanced with an employee's right to privacy. If an organization's practice is to monitor email or phone usage of their employees that are using company time and equipment, notification must be made to all employees that this is their practice or policy. At a minimum, employers should tell their employees what personal information will be collected, used, and disclosed through their monitoring of email and telephones. If employees are subject to random or continuous surveillance, they need to be told so. It should also be clear what the consequences are of not following the policies; who will have access to that information and what use that information will be put to.

Even if policies and notifications are all in place, it is generally a requirement that there be compelling reasons for an employer to monitor their employees in any format. The Privacy Officer of the organization should be the individual who can answer questions and handle concerns regarding their monitoring practices.

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