was opened and read by a fellow employee. A cause of action for invasion of privacy was found in this case. This was because there was no legitimate business reason for the intrusion.V.Preventive Policy MeasuresThe ECPA signals that the most favorable method for employers to protect against liability is to gain prior consent from employees before monitoring or accessing their business e-mail accounts. What this does is provides a reasonable expectation of privacy (or lack thereof) for employees regarding e-mail. The following issues should be considered when creating policies concerning e-mail practices:Consult a lawyer or other employment specialist with expertise in employment and privacy issues in your state.Prepare a written policy.Include a clear description of the permissible uses of e-mail.Receive verification that the employees have reviewed and agree to the policies.Update the policies to change with technology.Emphasize and impermissible content for e-mails.Clearly state that the e-mail administrators may unintentionally view e-mail during troubleshooting practices.Inform employees and independent contractors of any intent to monitor e-mails.State the consequences of misuse of the e-mail system.Show flexibility by allowing limited personal use of the e-mail system but clearly define acceptable personal uses.Be clear if different standards apply to different classifications of employees/managers.Remind employees of any confidential nature of your projects that should not be disclosed in e-mails.Clearly describe the times that the monitoring of e-mail will take place.Create policies regarding the retention time of e-mails and backups of e-mail systems.Do not bury the policy in pages and pages of policies in a company handbook.Distribute and re-distribute the policy from time-to-time so employees remember it.Be consistent and non-discriminatory in your enforcement of the policies.Most companies are flexible and allow for empl...
