were my workplace privacy rights violated?

[Mxylplyx]

Originally posted by: hans007
So here goes... I know some of you guys are far smarter about legal issues than me and I value this community... so...


Anyhow, I recently recieved a job offer for a new job, which I am taking. Yay me.

So... today I gave my 2 weeks notice. Scheduled a meeting with my director and said... i'm quitting. She said "is that it?" and i added that i wanted my last day to be xyz in about 2 weeks so i could help the transition (I am not a total ass).

Anyhow, she basically left the meeting room I was in and it was somewhat bizarre since she didnt try to convince me not to quit at all. that said i was talking to another coworker about it and he pulled me aside to tell me some other parties might try to convince me to stay etc.

anyhow at this point i had forgotten to lock my workstation and yahoo mail was logged in with a cookie and still on screen while i was talking to my coworker. Now i know if i was sending email with my work email account they can read it... BUT they sent a computer security person from work, to my desk while i was away talking to my coworker and he seeing the yahoo personal email account up, saw that my offer letter for the new company was the top email.

just as i got back i saw that he was at the "email forwarded" part of yahoo. luckily i had set the yahoo option to keep sent emails in the sent folder.


so anyway, i know they can sniff packets, read my work email etc. but can they actually USE my yahoo account, regardless of it already being logged in? I figure this would be like if i had a company paid for hotel in abusiness trip and they came in and sniffed all my underwear right?

Was it a scummy thing to do...yes. Did it violate your workplace privacy...no. Theres no such thing as workplace privacy. You probably violated their official, yet rarely enforced computer usage policies when you logged into your yahoo account.

 

[b0mbrman]

I'd say no...Doesn't mean you can't talk about it though

 

[skace]

I try to respond in a rational manner but the only thing that comes out when I type is "how fvcking hard is it to lock your workstation when you leave your desk?"

 

[Frintin]

I would report the incident to Human Resources as there are Ethics issues involved as the facts stand now. The information that was viewed and forwarded could be used in ways that are not ethical or legal.

Eployers still have broad rights as all of you mention and have the right to view the material produced on their assets. What they do with the information is an ethics and legal issue though.

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: her209
Any updates from the OP???

wow i am shocked people are still looking at this.


I basically just let it go. I still cant believe people think there is no such thing as workplace privacy. the whole , you violated our barely enforced non work related web surfing, so we can snoop any site you go through actively notion is just plain stupid.

anyone who subscribes to that idea, better move to china and just be happy over there. for the love of god you are supposed to be americans. and i'm chinese. that is why i am here, because companies are not supposed to be able to do that sort of thing. liike i said before, by violating the web surfing rule, i didnt sign over my whole life.

thats like, saying if i shoplifted at a liquor store, the police have a right to beat me on the spot.

anyhow, i basically stopped caring about 2 weeks into my 1 month vccation. i'm currently in my 5th week at my , 1 billion times better new job, that also pays more developing enterprise security products.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: hans007
anyhow, i basically stopped caring about 2 weeks into my 1 month vccation. i'm currently in my 5th week at my , 1 billion times better new job, that also pays more developing enterprise security products.

LOL, so you're developing products that allow enterprises to monitor and control your activity. Then complaining when they do so?

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: hans007

Originally posted by: her209
Any updates from the OP???

wow i am shocked people are still looking at this.


I basically just let it go. I still cant believe people think there is no such thing as workplace privacy. the whole , you violated our barely enforced non work related web surfing, so we can snoop any site you go through actively notion is just plain stupid.

anyone who subscribes to that idea, better move to china and just be happy over there. for the love of god you are supposed to be americans. and i'm chinese. that is why i am here, because companies are not supposed to be able to do that sort of thing. liike i said before, by violating the web surfing rule, i didnt sign over my whole life.

thats like, saying if i shoplifted at a liquor store, the police have a right to beat me on the spot.

anyhow, i basically stopped caring about 2 weeks into my 1 month vccation. i'm currently in my 5th week at my , 1 billion times better new job, that also pays more developing enterprise security products.

if you want workplace privacy on a computer, do what my wife and i did - picked her up a laptop and a cingular wirelss card - now she does her business on her laptop and company business on their computer system.

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: Malak
I hate to repeat myself, but did they forward this email to your organization or outside of it? Unless they forwarded it off outside your organization, I just don't see any reason to create unnecessary drama with a company you won't be working with any longer.

But once they have it forwarded to someone else in his organization, it could then be forwarded wherever they please

Uh, yeah, too lazy to read the rest of this thread. Plus my employer's are probably spying on me, and I just quit too.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: hans007

Originally posted by: her209
Any updates from the OP???

wow i am shocked people are still looking at this.


I basically just let it go. I still cant believe people think there is no such thing as workplace privacy. the whole , you violated our barely enforced non work related web surfing, so we can snoop any site you go through actively notion is just plain stupid.

anyone who subscribes to that idea, better move to china and just be happy over there. for the love of god you are supposed to be americans. and i'm chinese. that is why i am here, because companies are not supposed to be able to do that sort of thing. liike i said before, by violating the web surfing rule, i didnt sign over my whole life.

thats like, saying if i shoplifted at a liquor store, the police have a right to beat me on the spot.

anyhow, i basically stopped caring about 2 weeks into my 1 month vccation. i'm currently in my 5th week at my , 1 billion times better new job, that also pays more developing enterprise security products.

And you didn't lose your whole life either. Quite the opposite it seems. So what's your actual problem?

 

[AStar617]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: hans007
anyhow, i basically stopped caring about 2 weeks into my 1 month vccation. i'm currently in my 5th week at my , 1 billion times better new job, that also pays more developing enterprise security products.

LOL, so you're developing products that allow enterprises to monitor and control your activity. Then complaining when they do so?

What's that word? You know the one? Oh yeah, "irony"