WEBVTT

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Things were disappearing, you know?

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I mean, we all thought we
knew who was doing it -

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but, we hadn't actually
seen them stealing.

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And, I didn't want to get HR
involved until I was positive.

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So, I went looking through
their locker while they were out.

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What's the big deal?

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This could be a VERY big deal.

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Even though offices,
cubicles and equipment

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are provided by the organization

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and in the broadest sense you're
just checking on company property,

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this sort of action
could cross the line.

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Employers need to let
employees know

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about the organization's
right of re-entry,

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but also be sensitive to each
individual's expectation of privacy.

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If this manager had been discovered
looking through personal effects,

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the employee could probably make
a case for invasion of privacy.

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Surveillance and monitoring
of public places is one thing.

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Searches of company
provided desks, lockers,

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and vehicles is still permitted,

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but you have to be careful.

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That's where it's best
to get HR involved.

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Searches of handbags,
briefcases, lunch boxes

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and other personal items of employees

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open up an entirely
different set of issues.

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You may even need to get
legal advice before you try that.

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"Company-owned" usually
implies company-controlled.

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However, allowing employees
to purchase their own locks

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for lockers or storage units

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without providing the employer
a key or combination -

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effectively waives the employer's
right of re-entry.

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They no longer have the right
to enter that space

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without the employee's consent.

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For theft or crime investigation,
searches may be necessary.

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And some situations may not allow you
the time or opportunity to go to HR.

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However, conducting searches
without their consent

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could put your organization

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in an awkward, and potentially
unlawful, situation.

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Before searches take place...

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...every effort should be made to
have the employee or employees

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affected give their written approval.

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If they refuse to consent
to the search,

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the employees will need
to know the consequences,

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which could include termination...

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...depending on your organization's
policies and procedures.

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What about searching
employees' computers?

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Are managers or the company's
IT department...

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...allowed to see what employees
are doing during the work day

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on their company-provided computers?

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The answer is yes.

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Federal law provides that company
computers belong to the company

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and can be searched.

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Now, if you, or your organization
tells employees they won't be searched,

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that could nullify the law,
so never promise that.

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And, again, it's best to get HR involved
if you've never done it before.

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But some organizations have systems

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where managers routinely
can see what employees are doing,

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and that's legal.

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But part of protecting employee privacy
is to let them know you may do it.

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And another part of it is not
looking at information that

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clearly is private
if it's not relevant.

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Say an employee is out sick and
you need to get a copy of a document

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they were working on.

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It's not okay to go look into a folder
they've labelled "personal."

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On the other hand, if your policy
doesn't allow employees

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to use their computers
for any personal reason,

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the fact that they have
a folder called "personal"

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may be grounds for a warning.

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It's not what's in the file, but
just the fact that they have it.

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Most organizations, though,
allow reasonable personal use.

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Other situations that require
employee consent are:

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Checking references,

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providing references,

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credit checks and drug testing.

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A written sign-off that meets
federal and state legal requirements

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for each of these situations
could save many legal headaches -

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and it shows that
you respect employees

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and are looking out for
their concerns as well.