is it illegal for an employer to install monitoring software on only one employees computer without disclosing that they are doing so? dont they have to have a company policy to do so?
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is it illegal for an employer to install monitoring software on only one employees computer without disclosing that they are doing so? dont they have to have a company policy to do so?
i have recently discovered that my employer has installed a hidden monitoring software on my work computer without telling me that they did it after almost five years of employment with them. i also discovered that i am the only one through out the company that he has done this to. is this legal???
Asked on June 16, 2009 under Employment Labor Law, Wisconsin
Answers:
B. B., Member, New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
Probably, it's entirely legal. Your work computer is your employer's property, and the time you spend on it is supposed to be on your employer's business. It's time to play by the rules.
Playing games, reading personal email, internet messaging on the computer at work -- "Everybody does it." No, they don't. And most courts aren't quick to recognize an employee's expectation of privacy, against his employer, about what's on his computer any more than about what's in his desk underneath that computer.
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