Mike then logs off and goes home. As the use of e-mail increases, the relevant legal issues in the workplace expand as well. Not surprisingly, litigation involving e-mail has increased steadily over the past few years. Many of these cases implicate the competing interests of the employer and the employee. Employers want to monitor e-mail for productivity and liability reasons.
Employees argue that the employer's monitoring of e-mail violates their privacy rights.
Can Create Employer Liability E-mail is becoming a common form of evidence in lawsuits, and its existence is seldom advantageous to the employer. Employees sending and receiving racist, sexist, and sexually explicit e-mail leaves a discoverable trail that exposes the employer to potential liability based on many legal theories, including hostile work environment claims. Courts are finding employers liable for failing to monitor inappropriate employee e-mail and internet usage when the employer has notice of such behavior. The court held that if the employer had notice that employees were posting defamatory and harassing messages on the electronic bulletin board, the employer had a duty to remedy that harassment. Because of productivity and liability concerns, many employers are monitoring employee use of workplace e-mail systems.