An Email Policy for Your Business
The use of business email has quickly become widespread and is already a valuable business tool. However, its use is not risk free; email use presents problems and concerns for an employer. Consequently, it is important for an employer to understand the risks and undertake proper efforts to manage them.
There are several areas of concern for an employer. First, the informality that is inherent in email use may lead an employee to say things that he or she would never say in a formal business letter. Coupled with the fact that most messages are saved, or backed up, to storage disks, even after the user believes the message has been deleted, email can come back to haunt an employer.
Second, an employee may assert a right to privacy in messages sent and received. Employer monitoring of email may then prompt a lawsuit for such claims as invasion of privacy, sexual or racial discrimination, and wrongful discharge, and may even trigger felony charges under a federal act governing privacy in electronic communications.
The good news is that the proper management of email use is not much different from the management of other employment issues. The best way for an employer to address the issue is to provide to every employee a clear, well-defined, written policy concerning the use of its email system. While a policy can contain many different provisions, all policies should specifically notify employees that the email system and all transmissions are the property of the employer, that the messages on the employer's system are not private and that the employer reserves the right to monitor any email message on the system, as well as to disclose messages to third parties. The policy should also be consistent with the employer's other policies on personal use of business property. In addition, the policy should tell employees that email may not be used for outside business ventures, to advance personal causes, or to violate any law. The policy should also preclude its use for any derogatory, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate function, which is presumably consistent with other policies prohibiting specific workplace conduct.
At the Moulton Law Firm, we have several attorneys that are experienced in employment law. Please contact us if you need further assistance or have questions with an email policy or other aspects of employment law.
