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Should employers be able to read text messages on company phones?

Should employers be able to read text messages on company phones?

  • Total voters
    25
jamesrage

jamesrage

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Should employers be able to read text messages on company phones?

Yeah thats right I am asking whether or not employers can look up something on their property that they lend to employees.

It would be different if that phone was the employee's personal property but it is not.


Supreme Court to decide if bosses can read employees' text messages in Sgt. Jeff Quon sexting case

The Supreme Court announced Monday it will rule on sext privacy: whether a boss can read the X-rated text messages employees send on their work phones.

At issue is a California cop who sent reams of steamy texts on his SWAT pager to his mistress.

The case is the first time the courts have addressed the privacy of wireless communications, and the high court's final decision could have far-reaching effects. "This could change the whole legal landscape of electronic monitoring at work," said Lew Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute.

Last year, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the nation's most liberal, ruled that Sgt. Jeff Quon could reasonably expect his dirty messages to stay private.
 
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Yes, they should. It's company property.
 
if it is used for bussiness only











please click
 
I had to vote maybe. If the pose is to be used strictly for work, then yes. If the employee is allowed to use the phone for personal business, then probably not.
 
Company property is company property...no expectation of privacy with someone else's belongings.
 
I have no problem with them reading it. However I do have a problem with them acting on it. IE firing someone over what was sent.

Now a days it's not uncommon for any company to give out company phones, labtops etc etc that is used by the employee for literally anything that they choose to use it for. Even private things.

Companies have used such "private" messages to fire employees before because it doesn't "match company image" or some such crap. Including firing people for complaining about a boss. That is not right imo.

And I think that it's going to far. Not too long ago some city hall in Montana tried to make prospective employee's give out the addresses AND passwords to their facebook, myspace, emails etc etc. Not sure whatever became of it though. :p
 
Company property? Absolutely.

If someone in a job interview asked me for my private passwords, I'd spit in their face. Company might rent me, but they don't own me.
 
Yes, they should be allowed to read what was sent. Whether they should be allowed to act on it or not should depend on whether they allow the phone to be used for personal use as well as private use.
 
Absolutely, they pay for it, it's their property. If the employee wants privacy, they ought to use their own personal phones to send personal messages.
 
Redress said:
I had to vote maybe. If the pose is to be used strictly for work, then yes. If the employee is allowed to use the phone for personal business, then probably not.
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But even if it's a fringe benefit (which it probably is) how do you break it down?

If an employee uses the phone 95% for work and 5% for personal, it seems real questionable not to allow the firm to read messages.
 
obvious Child said:
But even if it's a fringe benefit (which it probably is) how do you break it down?

If an employee uses the phone 95% for work and 5% for personal, it seems real questionable not to allow the firm to read messages.
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If it's a fringe benefit, they should have been paying tax on the value.

.
 
This was why, when given a choice between a free (company-owned phone), and a reimbursement of a portion of a personal phone bill, I chose the latter. My phone, my privacy.
 
jamesrage said:
Should employers be able to read text messages on company phones?

Yeah thats right I am asking whether or not employers can look up something on their property that they lend to employees.

It would be different if that phone was the employee's personal property but it is not.


Supreme Court to decide if bosses can read employees' text messages in Sgt. Jeff Quon sexting case

The Supreme Court announced Monday it will rule on sext privacy: whether a boss can read the X-rated text messages employees send on their work phones.

At issue is a California cop who sent reams of steamy texts on his SWAT pager to his mistress.

The case is the first time the courts have addressed the privacy of wireless communications, and the high court's final decision could have far-reaching effects. "This could change the whole legal landscape of electronic monitoring at work," said Lew Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute.

Last year, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the nation's most liberal, ruled that Sgt. Jeff Quon could reasonably expect his dirty messages to stay private.
Click to expand...
hmm...well, the phone belongs to the employer, so i guess it's the employer's right to read the messages.
 
In my experience, the military doesn't really track it. I know that higher level commanders are issued blackberries and allowed to call who they want, text and check email.

I had a regular issue phone when I was on battalion staff and no one monitored what calls I made, but the brigade comms officer did monitor text messages and could read all of them. As long as they weren't inappropriate, he didn't seem to care. I used to text operational stats and personnel information to other staff officers all the time and he never said a word to me.

I had my own personal cell and used that to make non-work related calls. I only used my Govt. phone to make non-work related calls if I had no service on my personal phone; which was odd because they were both AT&T.
 
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