In a continuation of the Stengart v. Loving Care Agency case we wrote about in August 2009, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled on March 30, 2010 that emails sent by an employee from a company laptop via a web-based email account (Yahoo!) to her attorney were protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege. In reaching this conclusion, the Court also ruled and provided insight on a far broader and more practical issue for employers — namely, how to draft enforceable computer usage policies and/or make existing policies more effective.
Why All the Fuss about Reading an Employee’s Emails?
By Proskauer Rose on
Lately we’ve been writing a lot about employers, and their ability to read their employees’ e-mails. From New Jersey, to Idaho, to France, this is a hot topic and we are following new developments in this area closely.
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French Employers Can Open Files Located on a Company-Issued Computer Provided That They Are Not Clearly Identified As Personal
By Cecile Martin on
the French Supreme Court made clear that all files created by an employee on an employer’s computer belong to the employer unless they are expressly identified as personal
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The Sixth Circuit Affirms Individual Expectation of Privacy in Emails
By Proskauer Rose on
In a decision that will significantly impact the ability of the government to access electronic communications, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on June 18, 2007, affirmed a district court’s issuance of a preliminary injunction prohibiting governmental entities from obtaining Internet Service Providers’ (“ISP”) subscribers’ e-mail communications unless the subscriber first receives prior notice and an opportunity to be heard. Warshak v. United States, No. 06-4092 (6th Cir. 2007). The Court found unconstitutional the Stored Communications Act (“SCA”) provisions allowing Government seizure of such communications without prior subscriber notice, because the court order could be issued without a showing of probable cause that the subscriber had committed a crime. The Sixth Circuit found that individuals have an expectation of privacy regarding the contents of emails sent or stored through an Internet Service Provider (ISP).