If your company plans to monitor employees’ personal use of company-supplied email, internet or electronic equipment usage, it’s best to obtain written consent from the employee through the corporate policies. Corporate policy must be very clear, letting employees know the company has the right to monitor personal emails and personal internet use of any company- provided electronic devices.
Each policy should address potential privacy expectations employees might have related to this equipment. If, based on the company’s policy, employees are to have no expectation of privacy when using company-provided equipment or networks, the policy must be very clear and unambiguous. To implement the policy, any new employees would be required to sign an individual policy indicating they have read, understood and agree to abide by the terms. For existing employees, it may be a matter of agreement to the new policies with language that suggests “...your continuation of employment indicates your acceptance and agreement to abide by these various policies.”
There are other types of electronic devices that may be implemented by employers specifically for the purpose of data collection for business optimization. In these cases, how can an employer “monitor” employees and not breach the employee’s right to privacy?
For example, a GPS system installed in your vehicles provides a window into the operation of your fleet. In addition to vehicle location tracking, it is possible to monitor speed, starts/stops, idling and overall vehicle performance. By encouraging changes to driving habits, it may be possible to save money and reduce operating costs. However, to make employees comfortable with this data tracking, it is important your employees are aware of why data is being collected and how it will be used. With the intention of improving fleet operations and cost reduction, it may not be problematic. However, some employees could view this data collection exercise as an invasion of privacy.
Many corporate wellness programs employ the use of wearables, such as a fitness tracker wristbands, to encourage healthier exercise patterns. In fact, 40% to 50% of employers with a wellness program use trackers to enhance these programs, according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal.3 These devices offer employers new ways to measure productivity and safety, and potentially give insurers the ability to track workers’ health indicators and habits. Although there may be positive outcomes from the use of these devices, employees may have issues with this type of personal data collection.
To ensure the needs of the company and employee privacy are met, employers can take steps to remove themselves from the collection process of the data by hiring a third-party provider to maintain it and only receive anonymized data themselves. As well, the company must always be sure it is not breaching the “personal information” of an employee. Employees’ personal information (such as banking information, health data, etc.) should not be disclosed or mishandled. This information is protected under the same privacy laws as the general public.
What’s next for the workplace? From security systems that include retinal scanning to wearables in the workplace, each raises potential legal and privacy issues. Plan now to be ready. The use of technology has many benefits, but all within the realm of the expectations for privacy and protection of data.
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This Reciprocal Newsletter is an electronic publication intended for Subscribers of The MEARIE Group’s Insurance programs. It is published on a periodic basis and intended for information purposes only. In the event of specific claims, incidents or legal actions against the Subscriber, coverage will be determined by MEARIE policy interpretation.
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