Several workplace privacy court cases have been decided in the employer s favor. Electronic and voice mail systems retain messages in memory even after they have been deleted. In most cases, no. Many electronic mail systems have this option, but it does not guarantee your messages are kept confidential. Even in this situation, however, there may be exceptions.
Some employers use encryption to protect the privacy of their employees' electronic mail.
Encryption involves scrambling the message at the sender's terminal, then unscrambling the message at the terminal of the receiver. This ensures the message is read only by the sender and his or her intended recipient. What about my employer's promises regarding e-mail and other workplace privacy issues. Usually, when an employer states a policy regarding any issue in the workplace, including privacy issues, that policy is legally binding. For example, if an employer explicitly states that employees will be notified when telephone monitoring takes place, the employer generally must honor that policy.