The Electronic Communications Privacy Act does a fairly good job at protecting privacy for commercial services. One problem is that the technology used to track employee behavior is improving rapidly, Rotenberg added. The Congress has, generally speaking, taken a go-slow approach to privacy. The depth of the monitoring will increase along with the development of automated tools like complex software filters designed to search for words and send red flags to managers, he said. Many corporations, though, say they must watch employee actions not only to protect company secrets, but to make sure workers are following the law.
Companies worry they'll be open to lawsuits if workers engage in inappropriate behavior on the job.
Because the AMA's corporate members are mostly midsize and large companies, the group said the data didn't accurately reflect policies and practices in the overall U.S. economy, where smaller firms predominate. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines .