Monitoring Employee E-Mail: Efficient Workplaces vs. Employee Privacy

By: Corey A. Ciocchetti

Employer monitoring of electronic mail constitutes an emerging area of the law that is clearly unsettled at this point in time. This iBrief demonstrates that the privacy rights of non public-sector employees are relatively unprotected by the federal and state constitutions, broad judicial interpretations of enacted privacy legislation favor legitimate employer-monitoring practices, and many of the elements of common law claims are difficult for employees to prove.

Cite: 2001 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0026