Recent court rulings on employee privacy rights should give employers pause in drafting and enforcing electronic communications policies, particularly those regarding electronic mail. Most employers believe that they have the right to view employee e-mail that is processed through employer computer systems. Prudent employers have drafted, disseminated, and relied upon written electronic communications policies to justify those very acts.
In a recent court ruling in New Jersey, Stengart v. Loving Care Agency, the court found that an employee's rights were violated where the employee's web mail communications through a Yahoo account were archived by key logger software on the company computer system. While not binding authority in the State of Maryland, the principles involved are not novel or unique and could be argued in a court near you soon.
