We’ve talked about social media policies several times over the years, but it’s been a while since we’ve discussed monitoring your employees’ work phones, emails, and internet usage. As you most likely know, you can and probably should monitor employees’ work phones, emails, and internet usage. You never know when someone outside the business will require you to produce emails (hello, subpoenas or litigation). But, how do you protect your business upfront from employees who are miffed by your monitoring? One of the best ways is to provide notice to your employees that you are watching.
In fact, effective May 7, 2022, the state of New York will require all employers to provide notice to employees that their work phones, email, and internet use is monitored. The new law requires the following for new hires:
Written notice (hard copy or electronic) to all who are subject to electronic monitoring
Written acknowledgment (hard copy or electronic) of the notice
As for current employees, no written acknowledgement is required but employers must post notice about electronic monitoring. Failure to meet these requirements could result in civil penalties up to $500 for the first offense, $1,000 for the second, and $3,000 for any subsequent offense.
Even if you are not operating in New York or another state that requires notice, we suggest you take the time now to review your onboarding materials and policies and, if you don’t already have one, implement a policy related to...
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