Employee Monitoring Software Was Rejected by Officials

State Treasurer Jeb Spaulding announced Tuesday that his office will not monitor its employees' use of the Internet with controversial new software the rest of state government is implementing.
Spaulding, in a memo heralded by the state employees' union, said such monitoring of employees' computer use "undermines the trust we have developed and is, in fact, counter to the establishment of a productive work environment."
Spaulding said his employees' computers would be blocked from going to inappropriate sites, but their use of the Internet would not be monitored.
Spaulding has the authority to make that decision because he is an elected officer.
The website monitoring and filtering system, which gradually is being implemented throughout state government, has caused a stir with the state employees union and some lawmakers who tried to stop installation of the $120,000 system.
Vermont State Employees Association President Bob Hooper said, "VSEA hopes other state officials will now follow the treasurer's lead and be satisfied with exercising the ability to block inappropriate websites but not monitor each employee's Internet visits."
David Coriell, spokesman for Gov. Jim Douglas, said the legislative branch also has declined to use the monitoring system, but he did not know of other offices doing so.
He said employees would not be monitored regularly, but the system would allow technicians to trace problems when they pop up. "It's important when there's a problem to be able to go back and identify that information," Coriell said.