E-mail policy protects all involved

When e-mail first became available for widespread interoffice use, employers welcomed it as an inexpensive means of rapid communication among employees, customers and clients.

Businesses all over the United States viewed e-mail as an ideal means of boosting employee morale and improving employer-employee relations. Companies encouraged their employees to use e-mail for all routine business. Employers assured their workers that their e-mail messages would remain confidential and that they would never be used against them.

Then the inevitable happened: Employee messages began to get more personal and less professional. The anonymous nature of e-mail tempted employees and employers alike to cross the bounds of appropriate business behavior.

Employees had begun to join chat rooms and conduct personal business during office hours, turning what was intended to be a time saver into a time waster. More seriously, e-mail was sometimes used to harass fellow employees or employers, and some messages left employers and their businesses open to discrimination and harassment suits.

One problem with e-mail is that it is not private. E-mail messages can be compared to post cards; once they are sent anyone along the line can read them. More ominous is the fact that unlike postcards, which can be destroyed, e-mail, once in the computer system, for all practical purposes is there forever. It can be deleted, but it cannot be destroyed. An entire industry has developed to search and retrieve such messages from computer systems. If an employee has sent or received inappropriate e-mail, it may eventually turn up, to the detriment of employee and employer alike.

It became apparent that interoffice e-mail would have to be controlled somehow, but not at the expense of stopping its use entirely. The immediate solution for employers was to monitor all employee e-mail. This solution led to its own problems as employees became concerned about their privacy.

Business use of e-mail had come full circle. What was once touted as a boon to the modern workplace had become a blow to employee morale and a liability to employer/employee relationships.

The solution to the office e-mail dilemma must balance the employer's interest in limiting e-mail use to its legitimate business purposes against the employee's privacy concerns. The best way to do this is to have a well-articulated interoffice e-mail policy. Two good reasons for having a written e-mail policy are to reduce the litigation liability of the employer and to inform the employees that they should have no expectation of privacy regarding employee e-mail.

Each business will need to develop its own set of written guidelines and to determine the best means of ensuring employee compliance. Following are some suggestions of what should be included in a written e-mail policy. Keep in mind that this is not a comprehensive list. Each business should consult its own attorney when drafting its e-mail policy.

Among other things, the policy should clearly state:

1. The computer system and its e-mail messages belong to the employer;

2. Nothing in the employee's e-mail system is deemed confidential or private;

3. The e-mail system is to be used for business purposes only, e.g. communicating with other employees and clients about matters related to the employee's assigned duties, acquiring information related to the performance of those duties and facilitating the performance of tasks or projects as required by the employer.

4. Printing copyrighted material such as articles and software is a violation of copyright laws;

5. Offensive comments, jokes, or slurs based on race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, religious and political beliefs are prohibited;

6. Operating a personal business or disseminating trade secrets or other confidential information of the business is prohibited;

7. E-mail is not to be used for client or customer communications without the express written consent of the client or customer;

8. E-mail is subject to subpoena.

The e-mail policy should also set forth specific disciplinary action that will be taken for violation of the policy.

The e-mail policy and guidelines should be incorporated in training sessions, and all employees of the business should be required to sign the written policy. The employer may also want to post follow-up notices over the office computer system. These can take the form of a flashing dialogue box, a permanent message on the screen saver, or an interactive message requiring employee response.

The major benefit of having a written e-mail policy is that the employer can assure that the interoffice e-mail system is being used in a appropriate manner without having to constantly monitor employee e-mail use.

When both employee and employer know the parameters of e-mail use, employee privacy can be protected without stifling the use of this cost- and time-saving means of communication.

(Copyright 1999, Jan Hemm Pritchard. This article was provided by the Missouri Bar Association.)