As highlighted by many news sources, including CNN.com and MSNBC.com, the United States Supreme Court listened to oral argument (pdf) today in the case of City of Ontario v. Quon today. This is the case involving a police officer who claimed his employer violated his privacy when it read the personal text messages (which happened
New Jersey Supreme Court Rules on Personal E-mail Privacy: Stengart v. Loving Care
Co-author: Joseph J. Lazzarotti
The New Jersey’s highest Court has concluded that an employee, Marina Stengart, could reasonably expect that e-mail communication with her lawyer through her personal, password-protected, web-based e-mail account would remain private, and that sending and receiving them using a company laptop did not eliminate the attorney-client privilege that protected them. The Court
Peer-To-Peer (P2P) File Sharing Data Breaches Lead to FTC Action
Nearly 100 organizations have been notified by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) that personal information, including sensitive employee and customer data, shared from the organizations’ computer networks is available on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks. This, the FTC warned, could be used to commit identity theft or fraud. The notices went to both private and public entities, including
FTC Endorsement Rules Provide For Employer Liability for Employees’ Online Conduct
According to the newly revised Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Guides, employers may face liability for employees’ commenting on their employer’s services or products on “new media,” such
as blogs or social networking sites, if the employment relationship is not disclosed. Potential liability may exist even if the comments were not sponsored or authorized by the
Public Employers Wrestle With Data Breaches
The State of Minnesota has been smacked with a number of privacy-related district court lawsuits recently.
The most recent dispute arose after the state of Minnesota hired a Texas-based company, Lookout Services to perform E-Verify services for state employees as part of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security program to ensure that all employees of the state and its
Texting & Sexting – Supreme Court to Consider Employees’ Expectation of Privacy in Text Messages
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent grant of certiorari in City of Ontario, Ontario Police Department, and Lloyd Scharf v. Jeff Quon, et al. highlights the effects new technologies continue to have on workplace privacy issues. One issue the Court will consider is whether a California police department violated the privacy of one of its officers when it read the personal text messages on his department issued pager. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Court sided with the police officer when it ruled that users of text messaging services “have a reasonable expectation of privacy” regarding messages stored on the service provider’s network.
The underlying suit was filed by police Sgt. Jeff Quon, his wife, his girlfriend, and another police sergeant after one of Quon’s superiors audited his messages and found that many of them were sexually explicit and personal in nature. Among the defendants were the City of Ontario, the Ontario Police Department, and Arch Wireless Operating. Co. Inc. Plaintiffs sought damages for alleged violation of their privacy rights.
While this case involves a public sector entity, its outcome is likely to affect electronic communications policies and practices across the country, whether by public or privacy employers. Continue Reading Texting & Sexting – Supreme Court to Consider Employees’ Expectation of Privacy in Text Messages