Is Employee Monitoring Legal?

Before deploying employee monitoring software, companies need to understand the legal guidelines in their state. Not all monitoring activities get the green-light, and being ignorant of a law is never a defense. 

Here are the stats you need to know about the laws related to employee monitoring:

Understand Wiretap Laws and How They May Affect Monitoring

Consent to tape a phone conversation can be a two-way street. If the person on the other end of the phone doesn’t consent to being monitored, this could be a problem:

• 15 states require all parties to consent to phone call recordings

Do You Have to Disclose Monitoring to Employees?

Monitoring company-owned devices is a fair game, right? After all, the company owns the equipment and has a right to understand how the property is used. Never assume that monitoring can be done without consent. 

Two states-Connecticut & Delaware–require employers to notify employees that they are being monitored 

According to the American Bar Association, “Colorado and Tennessee require public entities to adopt a policy related to the monitoring of public employees’ e-mail.”

How Many Companies Disclose?

Many companies embrace full transparency and disclose monitoring. In fact, the majority of businesses who were surveyed favor disclosure. Why? Transparency builds trust. Epolicy Institute reports:

• More than 80 percent tell workers about phone monitoring, and almost ¾ tell employees their voicemail is monitored.
• Unfortunately, the methods employers use to alert employees to e-mail and Internet monitoring are not necessarily the most effective: 70% of organizations in 2007 relied on an employee handbook to inform users about computer monitoring; 40% relied on e-mail notices; 35% used written notices; and 32% relied on intranet postings. Only 27% of employers addressed monitoring policies and practices as part of formal, on-site employee training-the recommended way to maximize compliance.

What Activities Do Companies Monitor?

According to the American Management Association:

—45% of employers tracking content, keystrokes, and time spent at the keyboard

—43% store and review computer files

—12% monitor blogs to find out how the company is being covered

—10% monitor social networking sites

The American Management Association reports that internet-specific monitoring is prevalent:

—66% monitor Internet connections

—65% use software to block connections to inappropriate Websites

Epolicy Institute reports:

The 28% of employers who have fired workers for e-mail misuse the following reasons: violation of any company policy (64%); inappropriate or offensive language (62%); excessive personal use (26%); breach of confidentiality rules (22%); other (12%).

The 30% of bosses who have fired workers for Internet misuse cite the following reasons: viewing, downloading, or uploading inappropriate/offensive content (84%); violation of any company policy (48%); excessive personal use (34%); other (9%).

Social Media Passwords Aren’t Always Fair Game

Think you can pressure employees into handing over social media passwords so you can monitor posts, photos, and other content? Not every state agrees; in fact, many favor the rights of employees:

16 states protect social media accounts (employees don’t have to give up passwords)