Personal texting and email subject to employer scrutiny

Use your own phone for personal messages image: cleomsn

Slate – In a 9-0 ruling on Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that bosses are within their rights to read employee text messages if they have reason to believe that work rules are being broken.

The case of the “sexy texts” emerged after a police chief in Ontario, Calif., was taken to court after reading thousands of messages that a SWAT team officer had sent to his wife and mistress.

Sgt. Jeff Quon and three others sued the department and the city “despite signing a city policy that allows only limited personal use of employer-owned electronic equipment and that warns them not to expect any privacy in use of the devices.” According to Reuters, the case is the first time that the court has ruled on whether constitutional privacy rights extend to on-the-job texting. (Expect future rulings on sexy cell phone and IM conversations, legal analysts say.)

Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said that employers have the right to check in on employees, and “because it was not excessive in scope, the search was reasonable.” From LA Times