In the information age, information is sometimes all too accessible. Employers also have legitimate concerns that proprietary and confidential business information can be accessed by any employee who is connected to the office network. However, confidential information may be readily available to many others. Likewise, personnel data has to be protected with access limited only to those members of management who have a need to know. In spite of these legitimate employer interests, the ability to monitor employee conduct is nonetheless circumscribed by a number of state and federal laws.
Some statutes are specific to particular methods of communication, such as the wiretap laws.
The Supreme Judicial Court has held that the statute applies in the workplace to protect an employee s privacy. The statute creates a balancing test. The degree and nature of the intrusion are measured against the employer s reason for its actions. The more the inquiry is related to the employer s business, the more likely the intrusion is to be upheld. The Supreme Judicial Court has explained that, to violate the statute, the interference with privacy must be both unreasonable and substantial or serious.