Case law catches up with BYOD.

• Position: BYOD - Bring your own device

According to Amanda Tomney of DLA Piper, case law is finally catching up with the bring your own device (BYOD) movement. In a recent post to the legal firm's blog, Labor Dish, Tomney cited four cases related to the use of personal mobile devices in the workplace.

The first case dealt with partitioning work-related content from personal content. In Rajaee v. Design Tech Homes, et al., the company remotely wiped the iPhone of a salesperson when he resigned. In so doing, all of his personal data was also deleted. The ex-employee sued the company for accessing personal information without authorization and for the damage caused by its deletion. The court rejected both claims for not meeting the requirements of the laws under which the suit claimed.

The upshot, according to Tomney, is that companies need to review their BYOD policies and ensure employees know the circumstances under which their personal devices may be wiped. Some companies are partitioning work-related content from personal content so when data is wiped, it occurs only on the corporate side of the wall.

Another case raised the question of who should be allowed to use personal devices for work-related business. In Mohammad v. Nwabuisi, an employer was found liable for not compensating an employee for overtime work performed on the worker's personal device. Employers may therefore want to consider limiting BYOD to exempt employees. If non-exempt employees are allowed BYOD privileges, the company should ensure it has the policies and procedures in place for reporting all time worked, including time spent answering after-hours e-mail and calls.

The third case cited was Cochran v. Schwan's Home...