Employer Email Policies – Be clear and consistent

Harvard University – Due to a recent student cheating scandal that rocked the Harvard School of Government, as part of an investigation into the matter school administrators decided to audit the email accounts of Assistant Deans within the department. Assistant Deans are university employees who live in the dorms with students. These individuals are provided a Harvard email account for official school related purposes and a separate Harvard personal email account. In the course and scope of the audit administrators accessed both the official and personal accounts under the belief that the university’s email privacy policy permitted such inquiries. No notice was provided the subjects of the audit and there were conflicting email privacy policies circulating at the time. This is a perfect example of why we and other HR consultants emphasize the need for clear, concise written employment policies coupled with management training for consistent application. There is nothing inherently wrong or illegal about accessing employee email accounts so long as everyone concerned is aware of the policy and it is properly instituted. Employees need to be on notice that official company email accounts are subject to audit and that the right to privacy is limited. Make sure the policy is absolutely clear and states that “computers and access to the internet is solely for business purposes and that employees waive any and all rights to privacy with respect to use of company computers and smart phones.” The policy should also inform individuals that the company will store all passwords and usernames for future reference and access to various files and websites. Without proper advance notice employers risk lawsuits based in part on claims of invasion of privacy. Further, even with a well crafted policy employees still have certain rights of privacy with respect to internet access. For example, if the policy restricts use of the internet to business purposes only and an employee visits what is clearly a non-business related website it could be argued by the employee that auditing that conduct constitutes an invasion of privacy. Furthermore, under laws protecting concerted business activities, employees may share concerns about the workplace that apply to them and other employees and despite the right to audit the communications, these individuals would not be subject to discipline for such use of company provided computer equipment. Contact your Guardian HR Dedicated HR Consultant for guidance on formulating your technology use policies.