Sample Policy on Privacy and Employee Monitoring
Explanation. You may want to monitor your employee's e-mail and business phone calls because you want to preserve the sensitive nature of the work your business does or because employees deal with customers and you want to make sure they are treating customers well. Before you actually do any such monitoring, be sure to consult with your attorney --this area of employment law is highly controversial and complex. If you intend to monitor employees' business calls or their e-mail, your should absolutely have a policy that tells employees up front what will be monitored and what won't. Our sample policy can help you set up a legally compliant program to monitor these employee communications.
[Your Company's Name] Privacy in the Workplace Policy
Polygraph Testing. Some jobs at [YOUR COMPANY] fall within the exception to the prohibition against using polygraph tests for employment screening.
If the employee is applying for, transferring to or being considered for promotion to a job for which polygraph testing is required, the employee will be notified in advance that polygraph testing is a requirement of the job. Before any test is administered, the employee will receive notice of the date, time and place, as well as a list of questions to be asked.
In addition, if the employee is under suspicion in connection with an ongoing investigation of economic loss (theft or embezzlement, for example) at [YOUR COMPANY], the employee will be notified that a polygraph test is required and what the employee's rights are with respect to the test.
Refusal to submit to a legitimately requested polygraph test may be used as ground for discharge.
Monitoring. The employee's work output, whether it be paperwork, computer files, products, customer calls or customer interaction, belongs to [YOUR COMPANY]. As such, that work output is always subject to review by [YOUR COMPANY], whether it is stored electronically, on paper, or in any other form. In addition, business equipment, including computers, desks and lockers belong to [YOUR COMPANY] and are subject to search or investigation.
E-mail and Computers. E-Mail and other computer files provided by [YOUR COMPANY] are to be used for business purposes only. Use of [YOUR COMPANY] computer equipment for personal reasons is strictly prohibited and all computer pass codes must be available to [YOUR COMPANY] at all times. [YOUR COMPANY] reserves the right to enter, search and monitor the computer files or e-mail of any employee, without advance notice, for business purposes, such as investigating theft, disclosure of confidential business or proprietary information, personal abuse of the system or monitoring workflow or productivity.
Reprinted with permission. © CCH
Sample Policy on Privacy and Employee Monitoring. You may want to monitor your employee's e-mail and business phone calls because you want to preserve the sensitive nature of the work your business does or because employees deal with customers and you want to make sure ...
Sample Policy on Privacy and Employee Monitoring
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