Section 31 Invasion of Privacy Claims

• Library: Employer-Employee Law 2008

In Smyth v. Pillsbury Co., 914 F. Supp. 97 (E.D. Pa. 1996), an employee brought a wrongful termination claim against his employer, alleging that his employment was terminated in violation of public policy. The employee was terminated for sending e-mails to his supervisor that included threats to “kill the backstabbing bastards” and referred to a work party as a “Jim Jones Koolaid affair.” Smyth, 914 F. Supp. at 99, n.1. The court found that the employee did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the e-mails.

[W]e do not find a reasonable expectation of privacy in e-mail communications voluntarily made by an employee to his supervisor over the company e-mail system notwithstanding any assurances that such communications would not be intercepted by management. Once plaintiff communicated the alleged unprofessional comments to a second person (his supervisor) over an e-mail system which was apparently utilized by the entire company, any reasonable expectation of privacy was lost.

Id. at 101.

Additionally, the court determined that the employer’s alleged invasion was not highly offensive. “Moreover, the company’s interest in preventing inappropriate and unprofessional comments or even illegal activity over its e-mail system outweighs any privacy interest the employee may have in those comments.” Id.

A Massachusetts court examined employees’ right to privacy in their work e-mail in Restuccia v. Burk Technology, Inc., No. CA 952125, 1996 WL 1329386, at *1 (Mass. Super...