Stuart Buttrick in XpertHR on What Employers Can Learn from a Recent Privacy Violation Ruling

A district court recently ruled against Verizon Wireless, holding that a supervisor's access to an employer-owned smartphone to retrieve a former employee's personal email may have violated the Stored Communications Act. Stuart Buttrick, leader of the labor management relations team for the Faegre Baker Daniels labor and employment practice group, told XpertHR that employers should take note and learn from this case. 

"It reminds employers to put employees on notice that the employer and members of management could conceivably access anything on a company-provided electronic device at any time," Buttrick said. He added that companies of all sizes should take steps to manage employees' expectations of privacy and train supervisors on appropriate use of company-owned devices to prevent this type of workplace privacy violation. "Train managers and others that have the ability to access employees' electronic devices because, in some circumstances, the employer can be liable for the supervisors' unauthorized or inappropriate use or behavior," Buttrick told XpertHR.

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