You asked: “I have reason to believe my employer is listening in on my phone conversations at work. Is that legal?! If not, what can I do about it?”
The answer:
Dear Eavesdropped,
If your employer is listening in on your work calls, chances are they are not breaking any laws. With few exceptions, employers have the right to monitor an employee’s telephone calls, text messages and voice mail received or transmitted on a company-provided phone or hand-held device. And they don’t have to warn you. But most do.
Most employers notify employees of electronic monitoring in their employee handbook, on the company intranet, or by memo. I suggest you dig out that employee handbook and look for the policy on Telephone Use. You might find your answer there.
Employers who monitor calls with customers usually do so for quality control reasons (you may have heard that recorded message when you’ve made a call to a business). Other reasons given by curious employers are: to discourage unethical or illegal behavior; to protect security and confidentiality; and to assist with performance evaluations.
If you suspect (or know) that your calls are being monitored, and it bothers you, don’t use your work phone to make private calls. Keep your private conversations private by limiting them to your personal cell phone or home phone.
Don’t forget to send your questions to hrcounselorscorner@eastcoastrm.com. If you’d like email notification of all blog updates, just click the follow button at the bottom of the window.
Disclaimer
The information provided on this web site is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Use of and access to this Web site do not create an attorney-client relationship between East Coast Risk Management or Cara Mia Londino and the user or browser.
