Public Employee Privacy: A Legal and Practical Guide to Issues Affecting the Workplace.

• Author: Rose, Pete

Reviewed by Pete Rose, controller, Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, and member of GFOA's Committee on Governmental Budgeting and Management.

Few managers in the public sector have the knowledge to understand the privacy rights of their employees. Many think that the public's "right to know" transcends some of the privacy rights that are available to employees in the private sector.

Public Employee Privacy discusses a number of common workplace issues and the laws that pertain to those issues. The focus of the book is on the reconciliation between the privacy interests of an individual and the public employer's workplace interests. It is an excellent reference for human resources (HR) professionals as well as managers at all levels. It essentially covers constitutionally protected individual interests and those interests that are the subject of claims of constitutional interests. It is not intended to cover all areas of employment law, such as a determination of what constitutes misconduct and the employee's right to due process.

The first chapter is a summary of the legal sources of employee privacy rights, beginning with an introduction of the unique nature of public employment. The authors then describe in detail the provisions of the federal Constitution that offer protection to employees, followed by a brief discussion of protections provided in state constitutions. Statutory protections at the federal and state levels and common law protections also are discussed.

Each subsequent chapter covers a different aspect of employee privacy, including preemployment inquiries; polygraphs and other nonmedical tests; searches and investigations; release of employee information; discipline for actions that may be protected by constitutional rights of free speech; dress, grooming, and no-smoking policies; regulation of certain off-duty conduct; and substance-abuse testing and other medical testing.

Chapter 2, dealing with preemployment inquiries, should be of particular interest to most managers. We all are aware of the changes that have taken place over the years regarding allowable questions during an...