Mandelbaum  Salsburg    Attorneys at Law Employment Law Alert serving  NJ  since  1930
September 2009 Think Twice Before Peeking Into an Employee’s Email Account
A New Jersey appellate court has rejected an employer’s right to examine an employee’s private email account even when the employee accesses it through a company computer. The recent decision, Stengart v. Loving Care Agency, Inc., has widespread implications for all employers and their employment policies. Every employer should take note of the following aspects of Stengart: § The court held that a company’s electronic communications policy was ambiguous because it included a provision stating that “[o]ccasional personal use is permitted.”  According to the court, this (a) raised a question about the legitimacy of the employer’s attempt to review personal emails from the employee’s personal account, (b) suggested “that personal emails . . . do not become company property when sent on a company computer,” and (c) did “little to suggest that an employee would not retain an expectation of privacy in such emails.”		§ The court stated that employment policies “should concern the terms of employment and ‘reasonably further the legitimate business interests of the employer.’” The court concluded that an employee’s breach of company policy on computer usage does not justify the company’s claim of ownership over personal emails. The court also explained that a policy seeking to transform all personal communications into company property – based simply on who owns the computer – does not further a legitimate business interest. The Stengart decision should prompt all employers to review their electronic communications policies. As technology and workplace practices rapidly evolve, employers must periodically adjust their personnel policies and procedures.  We can help you do that—and thereby help minimize your exposure to employment litigation. *  *  * This alert is not designed to provide legal advice based on any individual case. It is only intended to provide general information to the firm’s clients and friends based on recent legal developments.
Lawyers for Employers We offer employers a comprehensive range of labor and employment law services. While it is always our objective to keep clients out of litigation by regularly consulting them on their personnel policies and practices, we have the expertise, experience and resources to handle any litigated employment law matter and any Union issue.	Our Labor & Employment Law Department Mark F. Kluger, Esq. William H. Healey, Esq. Dennis J. Alessi, Esq. Philip G. Ray, Esq. Yanet Perez Noble, Esq. Lance N. Olitt, Esq. Rosemarie DaSilva, Esq.		Contact Mandelbaum Salsburg Essex County Office 155 Prospect Avenue West Orange, NJ 07052 Tel: 973-736-4600 Fax: 973-325-7467 *  *  * Monmouth Count Office 119 Maple Avenue Red Bank, New Jersey 07701 Tel: 732-933-1515 Fax: 732-933-5551 *  *  * www.msgld.com