BEST PRACTICE TIP: PRIVACY CONCERNS WITH EMPLOYEE SMARTPHONES AND iPADS IN THE WORKPLACE

Companies today are increasingly allowing employees to use a company issued smartphone or iPad for personal use. Companies actually invested money and polled employees and found that employees hated having to carry around a business and personal mobile device. While it may have seemed like an easy concession to appease employees, there are hidden dangers lurking in the weeds. What privacy concerns are triggered when the employee returns the company device when fired or just receives an updated smartphone or tablet? What if the employee downloaded Facebook onto the device and has the automatic login feature enabled? Does the employer now have the ability to review all of the employee’s personal information on Facebook? What if the employee does online banking through his device?

The problem also rears its head in the reverse scenario as well. What happens when an employee’s personal smartphone has company data, contacts and trade secrets on it? What happens when the employee returns the smartphone for an upgrade, loses the device or donates the phone to a battered woman’s shelter? What happens to all of your company trade secrets? Did you just breach a few dozen confidentiality agreements?

The short answer to all of these questions is, “I don’t know, more facts are needed.” What I wanted to point out however is what I want to call a “Best Practice Tip”. An employer whose employees use mobile devices, be it smartphones or tablets, needs to have a clearly defined privacy policy in place with either a very limited expectation of privacy (or no expectation of privacy) and specific guidelines on how these devices are handled on a day to day basis and at the end of their useful life.

As stated in an earlier blog, I hope this entry makes clear that every employer needs to have a clearly written corporate policy on what is and is not allowed relating to the use of technology in an employee handbook. To discuss this and other employment related legal issues; please feel free to contact us at Danziger Shapiro, P.C.
This entry is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.