In drafting an e-mail policy to help decrease many of the above risks, the following points should be considered. Minimize employees' privacy expectations . If you do not create in your employees an expectation of privacy in company e-mail, an invasion of privacy claim based on reading embarrassing messages will likely fail. Make clear to employees that the business owns the e-mail system, that exists for the business, and that messages can and will be periodically monitored by management. Employees should have no expectation of privacy in their e-mail messages.
Business use only versus personal use .
A business needs to decide whether to allow employees to use the e-mail system for personal use. For businesses sensitive to union organizing activities, an e-mail policy should delineate the parameters for permissible and impermissible union activities. It's better to have a policy delineating permissible uses before the first union organizing message has been sent. Prohibit offensive material . An employer's antidiscrimination and antiharassment policies should apply equally to the employer's e-mail system.