Employee Monitoring: All Kinds of Monitoring in Office

There are certain issues regarding employee privacy rights that are a little confusing, especially when it comes to surveillance and monitoring activities.
Telephone and fax
Phone calls are monitored up to a certain extent. Calls that are between employee and client are monitored to check the business operations; they are also recorded for training purposes. Calls between employees are also monitored. Telephone numbers can be recorded through a device called “pen register.” This records the number dialed and the length of call.
Exceptions are made if the call is personal. The Electronics Communications Privacy Act makes employers liable if they read or disclose the personal conversation of employees, especially voicemail messages. However, a call that is made using a specific phone line that is not to be used for personal calls is still subject for monitoring. California also has a separate specific law regarding the monitoring of phone calls.
Fax machines are owned by the company, but if they are considered functional for employee’s private use, the employer should not look at the private data. To ensure employee privacy, use your own mobile phone or a pay phone for personal calls.
Computer and e-mail
A computer on the employee workstation is also subject for monitoring as long as it has a valid reason. Surveillance allows the employer to see the activities done on the computer, e-mails and messages sent or read, websites visited, and the files saved on it. Technology also allows the employer to monitor keystrokes and the computer’s idle time length, and block websites that are not work-related.
There are currently no laws that forbid employers from monitoring the employees’ computers, but provisions under a union contract may limit the monitoring time or an encryption may be used to protect the privacy of the employee’s e-mail. Workers are usually notified at their first day about the surveillance, but some only find out about it during evaluation.
Video surveillance
No laws regarding prohibition of video surveillance are approved either, as long as the employees are aware of it. Surveillance cameras are usually installed to monitor the safety, conduct, and productivity of the employees and visitors. It is installed inside the office and in the parking lot.
However, employee privacy rights are often violated with video surveillance, especially in instances wherein the monitoring has been “physically invasive.” That is why many states have limited the videotaping of employees. Video with audio recording capabilities, meanwhile, are usually subjected to laws regarding wiretapping or eavesdropping.