Court to Decide on Personal Texting at Work April 26, 2010
Personal Texting at Work … Beware
We’re all guilty. It’s too easy to do and too hard to avoid. Whether you’re making lunch plans with a friend or texting your vacation itinerary to loved ones. We’ve all probably used business phones to send text messages that were definitely not business related.
Is it wrong? Should companies have the right to check into our personal text communications on those company devices? No matter which side of the fence you stand on in this issue, there is likely soon going to be a legal precedent one way or the other that will change the habit of personal texting on company phones forever.
The case
On Monday, 4/19, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in a case on this very topic. At issue is whether or not a city in California violated the rights of a public employee by examining sexually explicit text messages that this employee was sending on a device that was ultimately owned by the city police department. At this time, a decision has not yet been made.
This particular case involved a police officer. Yes, we often believe that they should be held to the highest of standards considering the fact that they are enforcing the laws on citizens. However, many legal experts believe that the ruling in this case will have very broad implications on how both public and private employees can be monitored when using company devices for things like texting.
The problem
A recent study found that 80% of American adults have cell phones and 30% of those have internet access on those phones. Employees are expected to be available almost 24/7 with these devices in hand. And with that leash growing tighter, the line between home and work, professional and personal communications is becoming greyer. Separating the two while remaining productive on both sides is nearly impossible.
In an environment like the one we’ve created where employees are rapidly moving back and forth between work and personal use on devices, it’s easy to forget the boss may have the right to go back and review the texting trail they’ve created.
However this case turns out, employees everywhere must take note that until a legal precedent has been set, their personal communications on company-provided communication devices such as phones and computers may be open to scrutiny and could result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
