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Email & Internet
Usage Policy
(last updated February 2000)
In early 2000, California Governor
Gray Davis vetoed legislation that would have prohibited
employers from secretly monitoring the e-mail or other personal
computer records generated by an employee and also would
have required employers to disclose its workplace privacy
and electronic monitoring policies and practices to all employees.
Although many employers would consider the proposed e-mail
privacy legislation unwanted, privacy is a major issue, and
it is still a good idea to let your employees know where
they stand with use of company e-mail, internet access and
computer usage.
The explosion of the internet into the workplace has empowered
millions of employees, in a matter of keystrokes, to quietly
commandeer company property for personal use. Ethical questions
are mushrooming well beyond the propriety of workers frittering
away a morning shopping online or secretly viewing pornographic
web sites. Cautionary tales are piling up—from United Parcel
Service of America Inc., which caught one employee using a
UPS computer to run a personal business, to Lockheed Martin
Corp., where a single holiday e-mail sent to 60,000 employees
disabled company networks for more than six hours.
This is a new spin on the old nuisance of employees making
personal phone calls at work, but with greatly magnified possibilities.
Having an internet usage policy in place helps companies face
the unexpected twists in the world of virtual morality.
Let’s Make A Deal. Consider
some of these situations: Daytrading: With
the surge in day trading, is
it OK for employees to log-on
to make a quick stock deal? Politics: How
about sending out e-mails from
work supporting a politician? Job
Search: Using office computers
to hunt for a new job? Excessive
Use: If any of this is
permissible occasionally, just
when does it cross into excess?
How do you prevent the seductive pull of the web from sucking
productive hours out of your employees? Remember that when
your employees visit questionable web sites, they are leaving
behind an electronic trail with your company’s name on it—a
source of potential embarrassment later. Also, unlike phone
calls, electronic messages are often retrievable months or
years later, and can be used as evidence in litigation against
companies or individual employees.
Many companies find themselves caught off guard by the geometric
growth of such issues, and are taking a variety of approaches
to deal with it:
The “Monitoring” Approach: Install
sophisticated software that
monitors when, how and why
workers are using the internet,
and which sites can be accessed.
Controversy can erupt when
determining whether to go beyond
pornography and limit access
to such areas as sports, gambling,
and financial web sites.
The “Usage within Limits” Approach: Accept
the inevitable. Specifically
allow employees to use faxes,
e-mail and the Internet for
personal reasons, but set guidelines:
use has to be of reasonable
duration and frequency and
must not be potentially embarrassing
to the company. Certain usage
is not allowed, such as chain
letters, obscenities, harassment,
and solicitations.
The “No Privacy” Approach: Even
if allowing more permissive
use, inform employees not to
expect privacy. Sometimes it
is necessary for authorized
personnel to access and review
what is on an employee’s system.
Also, the company may be required
to publicly disclose e-mail
messages, even if marked private.
The “Log-on Warning” Approach: Before
employees can log on to their
computers, they must click “OK” to
a message warning them against
misuse of e-mail and the internet,
and alerting them that their
actions are subject to monitoring.
The “Misconduct Trigger” Approach: Provide
for some privacy by checking
e-mail only after a worker
is suspected of misconduct;
just because the company owns
the bathrooms doesn’t mean
they should place them under
surveillance.
The “Zero Tolerance” Approach: Prohibit
all personal use of company
equipment. Computers and other
company equipment are to be
used only to provide service
to customers and for other
business purposes. This ensures
that employees are focused
on serving customers. Just
the Facts: 27% of large U.S.
firms have begun checking employee
e-mail, a huge jump from 15%
in 1997. Some routinely do
this to search for obscene
language or images, which could
give rise to sexual harassment
suits.
Careful What You Wish For: Even
when a manager is within legal
rights to monitor employee
e-mail, the virtual morality
issue still rears its ugly
head. For instance, what’s
an employer to do if such a
search reveals that an employee
has an undisclosed drug problem
or is looking for another job?
Also, while a monitoring program
may be well worth it, be prepared
to devote potentially significant
resources to investigating
possible abuses.
Strategy 1: Companies
are advised to have written
policies; alert employees that
online activities will be monitored
and that they can be disciplined
for violations. Such warnings
make it difficult for employees
to win any suit asserting that
they expected their communications
to be private—already an uphill
claim given that the equipment
belongs to the company in the
first place.
Strategy 2: Waag and
Co. has prepared written internet
access, e-mail and computer
usage policies for many clients,
and can provide your company
with customized policies and
procedures for a reasonable
fee. |
