Can My Boss Monitor My Personal Cell Phone if I Use Company Wi-Fi?
Privacy is a major concern these days. The government is constantly monitoring every activity that is happening online. Though ‘Enemy of the State’ movie seems unreal, the scenario is quite real. Online activity of people, as well as phone calls, can be eavesdropped and surveyed. However, it’s not just the government that you have to worry about. Your boss can also monitor your personal cell phone and computer. This might seem a bit unreal, but it is the truth. Any data sent or received using the company Wi-Fi can be easily monitored. If this seems a bit too much, don’t worry, there are numerous employment lawyers that can give you excellent advice regarding privacy issues at the workplace. If you feel that you are being discriminated on the basis of information obtained through your personal cell phone, you can Call “844-4-JUSTICE” and speak with experienced lawyers regarding your case.
Is your boss monitoring your personal cell phone?
In case you are worried about the probability of your boss being able to monitor your personal mobile or laptop, your fears are not unjustified. If you are worried about the legality of it, the laws are unclear. However, most employees while signing the contract inadvertently agree to give up their right to privacy. In case they are using the company phone or computer/laptop, the company has propriety right over any data stored, sent or received over it. In case you are using your personal cell phone, or laptop at work, as most organizations have changed rules to bring your own device (BYOD) and using the company Wi-Fi or network to send or receive data, then also the data can be monitored. Thus, there is a very strong possibility that your boss is monitoring everything that you are doing (even on your personal devices) while in office premises. If you wish to ensure your privacy, it is important that you are aware of whether your cell phone is being monitored or not.
Isn’t monitoring my personal cell phone a violation of employee privacy?
Electronic means of communication have taken over the world. Gone are the days when people used to communicate via snail mail or even fax. With emails, scan and instant messaging work are done faster, thereby increasing productivity. However, increasing use of electronic media has also led to privacy concern. Since most employees use electronic means of communication (emails, SMS, instant messages or phone calls), for job-related and personal communication, even personal accounts are no longer personal thanks to employers having access to the data on the device. Employers often go through detailed background check including electronic surveillance of prospective employees, especially if the company is working on cutting-edge technology. However, changes are expected to take place in privacy laws concerning rising concern about employee privacy.
As of now, most employers have the right to monitor the cell phone activity (including calls received or made) from their premises; however, with some limits. As per the Electronics Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the employers are prohibited from monitoring the employees’ personal cell phone activity even on the company premises. Additionally, the employer must inform the employee that the calls being made on the company premises are being monitored. Additionally, the law makes a civil liability for employers that read, delete, disclose or prevent access to the employee’s voice mail. As long as employers indulge in these activities within legal limits, there isn’t anything you can do about it. However, ECPA clearly mentions that employers cannot monitor the personal phone calls an employee makes from their cell phone, on work premises. Personal call monitoring can only be done in a situation when the employee is aware of the same and consents to the same.
What’s the law on employee privacy regarding personal phones and emails at work?
As per the law, an employee’s phone calls can be monitored for quality control purposes only. If the call is personal in nature, the monitoring should cease. There are some organizations that completely prohibit personal calls at work. Thus, in case, on monitoring, if a call is found to be personal, the entire call doesn’t need to be monitored to initiate disciplinary action against the employee. States like California have made it mandatory for all parties (whose conversation is being monitored) to receive a notice about monitoring. It is important that you find out about the laws in your state regarding employee privacy and monitoring of personal devices (cell phone and laptop). If your employer is found violating the law, you can seek legal counsel regarding your next step.
Statistical data on employee privacy will surprise you!
You will be surprised to know that the reality of employee privacy is worse than that expected. As per a survey conducted of nearly 3,000 workers across the U.S., U.K., and Germany; the employees underestimated the amount of company data their employer could see and overestimated the personal data the employer can see. There has been a considerable increase in surveillance, especially in the corporate sector. This has been labeled to be an effort to boost productivity; however, many employees consider this an invasion of their privacy. The facts of employee surveillance might boggle you considerably:
- A 2018 survey found that 22% of organizations across the world use employee-movement data; 17% monitor computer usage data while 16% monitor Microsoft Outlook data or calendar usage data.
- Amazon has recently received a patent (ultrasonic bracelet) to detect the location of warehouse workers as well as monitor their interaction with inventory bins. This will be used to remotely track when and where workers are removing or putting items in bins.
- Similarly, Walmart too has patented a system to track its employee for “performance metrics.”
- A survey conducted in a California based company led to the discovery that 41% of employees believed that their employer doesn’t have access to the information stored on their device, while 28% believed that the company cannot see their business emails and attachments, while 22% believe that their employers can access their work contacts.
- The survey conducted led to the unraveling of the fact that a company can (if it chooses to) see this information on an employee’s phone:
- Make, model and operating system (Windows, Android, iOS, ) version of the phone
- Mobile service provider and country
- List of apps installed on the device
- Location of the device as well as a device identification number
- Corporate contacts, emails, and attachments
- Battery level, storage capacity, and its usage
- Emails on a personal device if using a company account
- According to the survey, employees aged between 18-34 were slightly more worried about the company’s intrusion into their private data compared to employees over 55 years of age.
- Nearly 84% of employees use their own smartphones at their workplace which is used to access internet, email, and
Spying on an employee can be the cause of legal problems
Employers need to be extremely careful while monitoring personal phone calls of employees, as spying on your employer can land you in the soup. Unless you have obtained the prior consent of the employee, monitoring employee’s phone can cause you legal trouble. There have been many instances where monitoring of cell phone has caused employers being in legal trouble.
In the City of Ontario v. Quon case in 2010, U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employees using company phone for personal text message cannot b considered private and that the employer had the right and freedom to view the messages. However, employers cannot monitor texts, calls and voice messages on the personal cell phone of the employee.
In Siiton v. Print Direction, Inc. case in Georgia in September 2011, though the employer did not violate the privacy of the employee by snooping on personal phone and computer, a non-work-related email was on display on a computer screen which inadvertently caught the employee’s eyes. Since the employee was using time in office for conducting other businesses, they had to pay the employer compensation due to loyalty breach.
In Pietrylo v. Hillstone Restaurant Group case in New Jersey, 2009; two employees had set up a password-protected account where they were venting about their workplace. Unfortunately for them, the owner got hold of the password and found that they were passing derogatory remarks about management and there were references to illegal drugs too. The management was sued under computer hacking laws when the employees were fired. Since the employee monitoring policy of the restaurant did not extend to private communications on a social network outside work, the employers had to pay the penalty for it.
It can be assumed that when you are using a company phone or device (laptop or computer) or company network that the data sent or received, and calls made will be monitored. However, this holds true for both parties. The company policy on employee monitoring should be clear so that the employees are aware of what is being monitored. The states of California, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Colorado, and Pennsylvania require that prior to monitoring any conversation the caller must be informed about the recording of the conversation. In case, you feel that you have been discriminated on a basis of monitoring of data obtained from the personal phone, you should consult employment attorneys for best legal advice regarding the course of action you must opt for.