Читать книгу THE LIFEBOAT STRATEGY - Mark Nestmann - Страница 25

Employers have long kept a watchful eye on employees during company hours. More than a century ago, the “punch clock” came into use. This devicerequired employees to clock in at the beginning and end of the workday. But monitoring has evolved from simple confirmation of physical presence into much more detailed surveillance of employee activities on – or off – the clock.

There are few privacy rights in the U.S. workplace. In most states, employers can:

• Prohibit you from speaking your opinion.

• Read your e-mail and monitor your keystrokes and Web-surfing habits at work.

• Search you or your office.

• Require you to submit to lie detector (polygraph) tests, if you work for the government or the tests are administered in connection with an ongoing investigation involving an economic loss to your employer.

• Monitor your credit record.

• Conduct random drug tests.

• Listen in on your telephone conversations at work.

• Require you to undergo medical or psychological examinations to determine your fitness for continued employment.

• Prohibit you from smoking tobacco or drinking alcohol.

• Conduct surveillance if you make a worker’s compensation claim to determine the claim’s validity.

In most states, if you refuse to consent to such restrictions, you may be dismissed. 50

You have a right to inspect files government agencies and credit bureaus keep on you. But you have no such right to inspect your own employment records (except in a few states).

Employers take many of these precautions to avoid lawsuits. For instance, if an employee downloads or otherwise brings sexually explicit materials into the office, an employer may be sued for sexual harassment. A racist opinion voiced by an employee at work may also lead to a lawsuit. So might an accident involving an employee who uses illicit drugs.