Monitoring Employees at Work

Technology now makes it possible for employers to keep track of virtually all workplace communications by any employee on the phone and in cyberspace. Employers have a legitimate interest in keeping track of how their employees spend their work hours. Employers may want to take steps to make sure employees are not giving trade secrets to competitors, engaging in illegal conduct at work, using company communications equipment to harass their co-workers or looking at x-rated sites and etc. Employers can monitor their employees' communications, within reasonable limits, but employers must make sure that their monitoring does not violate their workers' privacy rights. Also, employers must decide how much monitoring is necessary to serve their legitimate interests without making their employees feel unduly scrutinized.