Hebert says there must be some limit to that logic. Cornish says courts should not infer that workers who are notified of a policy necessarily consent to it. In addition, a company can ask workers to sign an agreement acknowledging the employer's right to listen to calls, read e-mail or take other security measures. At least in the private sector, if an agreement clearly spells out the employer's rules and the consequences for breaking them, it is practically conclusive that there will be no liability, Wall says. What courts say about notice and consent agreements may vary from state to state.
Issues related to new technologies, of course, are only part of the workplace privacy picture.
Employers may need information to accommodate disabilities under the Americans With Disabilities Act or to document a claim for family leave. Credit record privacy. Companies may think that a person who is responsible with money will be responsible at work. Some privacy advocates say what is needed to settle these matters is a federal law to reassert and clarify all employee privacy rights. Hebert has doubts.