The United States Bankruptcy Code prohibits an employer from taking adverse action against an existing employee because of a bankruptcy filing.

In December, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit refused to extend that same protection to applicants for employment. In Rea v. Federated Investors, the court ruled that the phrase

Scott E. Blissman also contributed to this post.

The U.S. Supreme Court held that a public employer’s review of transcripts of an employee’s text messages on an employer-issued pager constituted a reasonable search under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. City of Ontario, Calif. v. Quon, No. 08-1332 (June 17, 2010). Although the case involved a public employer, it has some important lessons for private sector employers as well.

Factual Background

Quon worked for the City of Ontario, California, as a police sergeant and as a member of its SWAT team. In 2001, the police department issued pagers to its SWAT team members to help them mobilize and respond to emergency situations. The City’s contract with its wireless service provider had a monthly character limit for each pager, and the City required officers to reimburse it for the additional fees incurred for monthly usage over that limit. When the reimbursement process became burdensome, the City reviewed the communications to determine if the existing character limit was too low for work-related purposes or if the overages were for personal messages.

An initial review showed that several officers had used their pagers for extensive personal text messaging. For instance, many messages sent and received on Quon’s pager were personal in nature, and several were sexually explicit. This prompted the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division to investigate whether Quon had violated department rules by pursuing personal matters while on duty. The investigation concluded that he had done so, noting for instance that of the 28 messages Quon averaged per shift, only three were work-related.

The City had a “Computer Usage, Internet and E-mail Policy” that permitted incidental, personal use of City-owned computers and equipment. The policy warned employees that personal communications could be monitored, and that employees had no expectation of privacy in such communications. Although the policy did not mention text messages, the City made clear to employees that such messages would be treated like e-mails. The police lieutenant responsible for the City’s wireless contract, however, told Quon that “it was not his intent to audit [an] employee’s text messages to see if the overage [was] due to work related transmissions.” Quon interpreted that comment to mean that the City would not examine the content of his text messages.Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Public Employer’s Search of Employer-Provided Communication Devices

Lessons for Employers in a Social Media World

Recently, in Stengart v. Loving Care Agency, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that an employee had a reasonable expectation of privacy in her Internet-based emails to her lawyer, despite the fact that she sent such emails from a company-owned laptop and was on notice of the employer’s written policy that emails may not be considered “private or personal.” The opinion is significant not only in recognizing a privacy interest for employees’ communications to their attorneys using company-owned-and-monitored networks, but also in providing important guidelines for employers drafting or updating their policies on use of email and the Internet. In addition, Stengart issues a warning to both in-house and outside counsel involved in the forensic review of employees’ computer-based data and communications.Continue Reading New Jersey High Court Limits Employer’s Right To Review Employee Emails