Posted on June 20, 2008 by Clifford Davidson

Wrath of Quon?

The June 18, 2008 Ninth Circuit panel decision in Quon et al. v. Arch Wireless et al., No. 07-55282 (9th Cir. June 18, 2008) has sparked a flurry of news reports and speculation regarding employers’ ability to monitor employees’ e-mails and text messages. In fact, the decision appears to change very little for private employers who wish to review employee communications stored on, or sent through, their own servers and computers. However, Quon does limit employers’ ability to request from third-party providers the contents of employees’ electronic communications.

Continue Reading...
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted on January 30, 2008 by Clifford Davidson

Ninth Circuit Upholds NLRB Test for Unlawful Employer Surveillance of Union Activities

In a unanimous panel opinion issued on January 28, 2008, the Ninth Circuit upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) newly-announced three-factor test for determining whether employer surveillance activity of potential union members is coercive and therefore in violation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The case, Local Joint Executive Board of Las Vegas et al. v. NLRB, No. 05-75515, -- F.3d --, 2008 WL 216935 (January 8, 2008), involved two incidents of alleged surveillance of union activities at Aladdin Gaming, LLC, in which Aladdin officials conferred with employees in the cafeteria who had been presented with union cards.

Continue Reading...
Tags: , , ,
Posted on May 3, 2007 by Tanya Forsheit

California Court of Appeal Reaffirms Adequacy of Opt-Out Notice to Protect Privacy of Individual Identity and Contact Information in Litigation

On April 9, 2007, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, affirmed a ruling of the Los Angeles Superior Court permitting the disclosure to counsel for a putative class of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the defendant’s current and former employees unless, following proper opt-out notice, they objected in writing to the disclosure. Belaire-West Landscape, Inc. v. Superior Court, B194844 (April 9, 2007). The Belaire-West court applied the reasoning of the California Supreme Court's recent decision in Pioneer Electronics (USA), Inc. v. Superior Court, 40 Cal.4th 360 (2007) (discussed in our January 30 post) to employee data to hold that requiring current and former employees to object to disclosure of their identities and contact information “present[ed] no serious invasion of their privacy interests.”

Continue Reading...
Tags: , , , , ,