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Regardless of your age, the law recognizes that you have a certain amount of privacy. For example, your boss can’t search your purse or your wallet. The same is true of your personal cell phone – your texts are private like your journal or diary. However, if your boss provided you with the phone for work purposes, your supervisor could look through your texts depending on the circumstances and terms of your employment. If the police are conducting an investigation they could also read your messages, with or without a search warrant, depending on the circumstances. Bottom line: don’t incriminate yourself – be very careful of what you say so that a statement is not misinterpreted as a threat or sign that you’re involved with criminal activity. Since this is a new and developing area of law, challenges based on expectation of privacy will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Update: In June, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court decided its first case dealing with this issue. In the case of City of Ontario v. Quon, the court ruled that government employees have a limited expectation of privacy on their employer-issued cellphones, computers, etc. The employer may conduct a search of their equipment if the search is reasonable and has a legitimate work-related purpose. The search may be without a warrant and it must be reasonable in scope.
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can my boss get details of company vehicle i was drink driving in but i was not charged
Judge Tom’s response:
Dear Lewis – yes, if as you said, the car or truck belonged to your boss or his company, you have no right to keep him from obtaining information about your activities while driving the company truck. When you started working for this company you most likely signed some agreement regarding your rights and responsibilities that includes driving company vehicles. It might be best to fess up to what happened since he/she will find out anyway, not to mention honesty is the best policy. All the best.
so my boss took my phone today after she caught me looking at it and when she took it she wouldent let me turn it off first then looked throw my messages and tolod me she did the asked one of my co workiers if he texted me to and tolod him she looked at my messages is this illgal
Judge Tom’s Response:
Whether it’s legal or not depends on a number of things: did you agree when you were hired to allow your boss to read your messages? who provided the cell phone, is it a work phone? did you agree when she took the phone from you? and what are the privacy laws of your state regarding the workplace? All of these factors make a difference in your situation. Good luck.
My boss tried to implement a new rule of her taken all the employees cell phones out of the blue. Is this a legal thing to do in the state of California?
Judge Tom’s response:
Askthejudge.info does not provide legal advice or interpret state and federal laws. Generally, what your boss can do depends on the terms of your employment. In this case, if the phones were issued by your employer, they may be taken. If they’re your personal phone, that’s a different matter. You need to ask a lawyer who is familiar with California law. Good luck.
I work in Ontario, Canada. I read an email on my boss’s computer. It was from another employee complaining about me. Can I get in trouble/fired for reading the email?
Judge Tom’s response:
It depends on the workplace rules that you likely agreed to when you were hired. Confidentiality laws may also apply in your province and/or at work. You might consider asking your Human Resource person who would be knowledgable about these issues. Good luck.
I live in Ontario Canada. I have my own cell phone of which is mine personally. I work at a tanning salon and left my phone on the front desk while I went tanning. My boss was at the front desk. My phone also has a lock on it and the password is the same as the password I use at work which my boss knows. The last text messages I had on my phone were about me quitting. My next shift my boss told me she had heard rumor that I want to quit. Me and her are the only people working there and i do not tell any of my customers my personal life. In fact I had only told my friend who lives in another town through that one text message that I was thinking about quitting. Regardless of actual proof is it illegal for my boss to go into my phone through a password and read my text mssages without my permission?
Dear Rach: The issue of cell phone privacy at work is a new and developing area of the law. In the U.S., courts are deciding these matters as they come up in court cases. In December, 2009, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that users have an expectation of privacy on their cell phones and that the police would need a search warrant to search a phone unless officer safety was an issue. But that’s just one ruling in one jurisdiction. Generally, your boss would have access to your phone if he or she supplied it for use while at work, or you agreed to such when you were hired. You’ll have to check the status of the law in your area. Good luck.
[This is information only - not legal advice].
i am having alot of issues at work including sexual harrasment. among other things. the higher up’s in my company want me to copy the documentation in my diary and give it to them. do i have to do this or is there protection against this??
thank you
Dear Tracie: You need to check your state’s employment and privacy laws. It’s unlikely that you’re required by law to turn over your diary contents, but it may be important to an investigation of workplace harassment. Speak with a local lawyer about this or check with your local EEOC [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] whose work includes enforcing federal law regarding sexual harassment in the workplace. Good luck.
[This is information only - not legal advice].
My Daughters Supervisor borrowed her cell phone because he told her that his was broken and that he needed to call the Boss on some matter or other. After using it she found that he had Texted her boss poseing as her and made some remarks and called him some names. She called her boss immediately and told him that it was not her that sent thoes, but she is worried that he dose not believe her. Is there any action that can be taken to the supervisor?
Dear Simon: If your daughter is a minor, you might consider contacting her boss and request a meeting to discuss this matter. You could set the record straight so she doesn’t suffer any consequences in the future. She could also confront her supervisor and ask for an explanation of what he did. She might also keep copies of the messages he sent or leave them in the phone until this is resolved. As a last resort you could discuss the situation with a lawyer who specializes in employment law. Good luck.
[This is information only - not legal advice].
My boss and I dated for 4 years and recently broke it off. My phone
is on the company plan so couldn’t he just look at the monthly bill
to see the #’s I have been calling and texting?
Dear Melissa: Funny you should ask at this time. Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided their first case regarding cell phone privacy. They ruled unanimously [9-0] that an employer issued phone or computer may be searched by the employer if there is reason to believe that work rules have been or are being broken. You might also look to anything you signed when you started working with this company. You may have already agreed to searches in your employment contratc. You might consider getting a private phone, not connected to your job. Good luck.
[This is information only - not legal advice].
While at work (my lunch break) I accidentally called my employers extension on my personal cell phone(it was in my pocket). I was having a conversation with fellow employees at the office. The conversation was maybe a little inappropriate; however, my employer intercepted the call, and she put me on speaker phone so other people could listen to my phone call(approximately 30 minutes, when I was leaving the office(after lunch) to go work in different put of the facility; they then decided to call me on the office phone to tell me they heard my entire conversation. The person that called me wasn’t even the person that intercepted the call. Is this a violation of my privacy?
Dear Jen: Cell phone privacy at work and school is a subject of much debate today in both state legislatures and courts. A few recent cases have come down on the side of the employee and student, holding that individulas have a reasonable expectation of privacy on their cell phones even if issued by the employer for work-related calls. Every state has its own laws regarding privacy. You could also check any documents you signed when hired by your employer – you may have agreed to certain provisions allowing oversight of your calls while at work. You could also talk with a lawyer who specializes in employment law and is familiar with privacy issues. This is a developing area of the law and the challenge is for the law to catch up with technology. Good luck.
[This is information only - not legal advice].