Employee Privacy Rights In The Workplace

Employee Privacy Rights in the Workplace

The issue of privacy is a big concern in the workplace. With the expanding of new technology, many employees are concerned that their privacy rights are not being protected. Laws that allow employees to monitor employees, many feel are a violation of their privacy rights and are felt to be unconstitutional.

Employees have the right to got to work knowing that his or her employer will not invade their privacy. They have the right to go to work knowing that there will not be someone over their shoulder watching their every move.

The rights to privacy in the workplace only offers limited protection for workers against monitoring and breach of confidentiality. Many feel that there should be clearly defined laws to guarantee protection against invasion of privacy.

The protection offered by the Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986 has been reduced due to the statue being outdated. Rights that employees once had protected are most likely not protected anymore. Are there any limits to employers snooping or intruding in to personal properties or behaviors of their employees?

The growth of new technology brings about new problems concerning workplace privacy rights. There have been numerous software programs introduced after 1980 giving employers the ability to monitor employees. Other advances in technology give employers the ability to "watch" employees every move.

Employee monitoring, the largest issue among workplace privacy rights, is a growing concern and will only become bigger with new advances in technology. Electronic monitoring has seen a tremendous growth in the workplace in the past ten years. The National Workrights Institute states, " Prior to 1980, electronic monitoring was virtually unknown. Electronic monitoring was introduced into the workplace in the twentieth century for the use of bathroom breaks and hand eye movements." It is shown that eighty-eight percent of all electronic monitoring systems were installed after 1980.

A survey of 300 businesses in different industries was conducted and found that at least twenty million Americans may be subject to electronic monitoring at the workplace. No matter