- August 19, 2012
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
Recently, a serious problem for many companies is the work of insiders, who are involved in theft of confidential information. Integrated security system, just intercept the information did not allow to analyze it with high quality. Analysis of the information includes many components: the collection of complete statistics, tracking trends, and search for information in the captured data.
Leaks of information damaging to companies in all industries. Even very large and successful companies are not immune from the activities of insiders, as evidenced by the occasional press reports of leaks:
Ӣ In 2007, the Korean auto giant Kia Motors lost several billion dollars because of selling information about their development by insiders to its competitors in China;
Ӣ In 2008, Bank of New York leaked information about its customers, costing him $ 866 million;
”¢ In 2009 three departments of the British HSBC group of companies were fined more than £ 3 million for failing in providing adequate protection of customer data from leakage and theft (Weckert, 2002, p.15).
According to research company Proofpoint, published online by the British tabloid The Register, 18% of U.S. corporations this year have suffered damage from the communications of their employees in blogs, 17% of companies caught their workers at the junction of information through social networks. However, e-mail in this sense, a leader: according to Proofpoint, the 2009 leak of information via e-mail was noticed in 43% of companies. The size of losses incurred from theft of confidential data by corporations around the world, according to various estimates, last year amounted to $ 550-600 billion (Kevin, 2004, p.275).
American Management Association reported that according to their survey, the quantity of employers who monitor their employees doubled during the last 10 years.
Monitoring of employees at the workplace is an opportunity for the companies to minimize their losses. There are many different ways to monitor employees. There are legitimate and illegitimate forms of monitoring, and employers must abide by the law. The employer is entitled to writing down video in the workplace, corridors, work areas, parking employee break rooms, common areas and other places where the employee has no reason to expect privacy. Other activities to monitor staff include:
– Telephone calls, made from work phone;
– Voice mail using voice mail systems of a company;
– E-mail messages, incoming and outgoing,
– Use of the Internet on company computers;
– Use of company computers;
– Chat, implemented through a computer company
– The use of GPS devices in company vehicles to record information about the location, speed, and other activities related to the work.
Issues relating to security and trial would require the monitoring of workplace. Video is a great confirmation of what the workers are engaged in during working hours. It allows you to clarify the situation.
From the employee’s view point, it is very important that he is trusted and valued as an employee. Most workers do not want their every move carefully and continuously being monitored for various reasons. In organizations where the monitoring is too intensive, employee moral is lower, and productivity is lower as well. It is recommended to have limited monitoring (Siegel, 2007, p.563).
Laws vary from state to state and in different ways determine how the employer may monitor employees. Employers who monitor the workplace must have a clear policy on what activities they control. They should make monitoring in accordance with the laws and with signed agreement of employees.
This table presents a brief summary of federal and state law relevant to electronic monitoring of private sector workplaces in the United States. (Noe, 2004, p.305).
| Source of Law | Summary of Law | Protection of Employees | Type of Remedy: Civil, Criminal |
| State Tort Laws
|
Tort of privacy prohibits unreasonable intrusions into the seclusion of employees. Tort of Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress may restrict employer’s subsequent use of personal data collected through electronic monitoring. | Yes, but no courts have found electronic workplace monitoring to be privacy violation either because there is no reasonable expectation of privacy or the employer’s intrusion was not highly offensive to a reasonable person. | Tort remedies including civil damages and the possibility of punitive damages. Attorney’s fees are not recoverable. |
| State Contract Laws | Promises by an employer create contractual rights that may be enforced by employees. May be express or implied from employer workplace policies. | Courts reluctant to find employer monitoring violates contractual rights of privacy. | Contractual damages in the form of lost employee compensation. Generally no recovery of emotional distress damages, punitive damages, or attorney’s fees. |
| The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) | Requires an employer to bargain with employees’ labor representative before imposing an email or Internet use policy that may result in employee discipline. | Yes, applies to employees represented by a labor union (generally limited to non-supervisor employees). | Administrative remedies including reinstatement and back pay. Administrative orders requiring the employer to bargain about mandatory subjects of bargaining. |
| The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) | Prohibits employer surveillance of employees engaged in protected, concerted activity without justification | Yes, applies to employees whether union or non-union (generally limited to non-supervisor) employees). | Same as above |
| ECPA (Electronic Communications Privacy Act) ”“ Title 1 | Prohibits contemporaneous interception of oral, wire or electronic communications while in transit. | Yes, exceptions cover workplace monitoring by a provider of a system in the ordinary course of business or with consent. | Civil damages. Criminal penalties. Employees have a private right of action. |
| ECPA ”“ Title 2 | Prohibits access to stored wire or electronic communications while in storage prior to delivery to intended recipient. | Yes, exceptions cover workplace monitoring by a provider of a system or with consent. | Same as above |
| The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) | Limits processing of employees’ medical information; prohibits collection of “disability-related” medical information unless job-related; requires security to protect employees’ medical information. | Yes, if employer has at least 15 employees. Applies to all employees whether or not disabled. | Civil Damages including compensatory and punitive damages and attorney’s fees. No Criminal Penalties. Employees have a private right of action, but must file an administrative complaint with the EEOC prior to filing a lawsuit. |
| HIPPA | Requires protection of the privacy of personally identifiable health care information including security protections. Provides rights of access for data subjects. | Yes, if covered by an employer’s self-insured health care plan | No private right of action. Civil fines and criminal penalties available in a government enforcement action. |
| State Electronic Communications Privacy Statutes | Prohibits interception of oral, wire or electronic communications. See specific state laws. | Yes | Civil Damages and/orCriminal penalties ”” see state laws.
May be no private right of action. |
| State Statutes Restricting Electronic Monitoring | Individual states may have statutes restricting electronic monitoring by employers or requiring employers to notify employees of monitoring practices. | Yes | See State Law |
If to talk about my job, so I work as a manager in the office.
The boss in my company wants to be sure his employees are doing a good job, but sometimes employees don’t want their every sneeze or trip to the water cooler logged.
New technologies make it possible for boss to monitor many aspects of his employees’ jobs, especially on telephones, computer terminals, through electronic and voice mail, and when employees are using the Internet. So my employer listens, watches and reads most of our workplace communications.
Employer monitors calls with clients and customers. Also my employer obtains a record of his employees phone calls when he needs. I have a computer terminal at my job, so my employer’s uses it as a window into my workspace. Also we were told that an e-mail system we use at our company is owned by the employer and he is allowed to review its contents. Messages sent in the can be subject to monitoring by our employer. And of course we have video monitoring in the office.
According to the privacy policy at my work, we have such rules of Employee behavior:
1) Use the phone of the company only for business activity. Make calls of a personal nature on a working telephone is prohibited.
2) Use company voice mail and e-mail system only for business.
3) Use Internet, provided by your employer only for working purposes.
4) Use the hard drive and the company’s computers for work and document storage. Do not use the computer network of the company for personal use and don’t keep personal documents on the hard drive on computer.
5) Instant messaging should be used as a means of business communication. Do not conduct personal correspondence and conversations.
6) Use company’s car and a mobile phone only for work. Usage of a car or mobile phone that is provided by company in personal activities is unacceptable.
Employee monitoring has a place in society, and employers have the right to monitor employee productivity, and their use of company resources. Employer loses money if the employee does not do the work that he is being paid to do. In fact, an employee steals from his employer, if he doesn’t work during work hours, and engaged in personal affairs. Employees must adhere to the concept, which is work in exchange for a paycheck (EPIC, 2002, p.95).