Rights Of Privacy In The Private Sector

Workplace Essay, Research Paper

Introduction

“Companies are intruding more deeply into the lives of employees, and even though corporate intentions may be benign, the risk of backlash is growing.” —Lee Smith (1)

With the rise of advanced technology, there arose the threat of surveillance and privacy invasion in the workplace. An employee, by the very nature of the employment relationship, must be subject to some level of monitoring by the employer. However, this monitoring has its limits. Rights of privacy primarily are related to organizational invasion of a person’s private life and unauthorized release of confidential information about a person in a way that would cause emotional harm or suffering (2). It is the objective of this paper to find out what types of information employers know and what methods are being used to invade the privacy of employees in the workplace.

The meaning of privacy invasion must be addressed to determine the line in which employers cross their boundaries. Historically, employees are accustomed to maintaining a separation from work and their private life. Personal issues such as religious, political and social beliefs have not been subject or available information to employers for analysis. Off-the-job behavior follows the same parameter; employee’s actions away from the workplace are not the business of the organization. In recent years, those assumptions of employees have slowly dissipated. Employers are now gaining information on employee actions, behaviors and beliefs through various means of electronic outlets, information sources, and scientific and psychological testing procedures. Employers are using that information in the hiring-decision process, job performance and promotion evaluations, and in certain cases, reasons for termination.

Constitutional Rights of Privacy for Employees

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”—Amendment IV to U.S. Constitution

“No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”—Amendment XIV to U.S. Constitution

When the founding fathers of the United States wrote the Constitution, they specifically addressed the most pressing issues of privacy during that period. Those issues included the government’s right to search one’s home as desired and the quartering of U.S. troops in the home. The privacy issues have evolved overtime due to technology and could not have possibly been predicted by the framers of the Constitution. Employees often look to the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution with hopes of finding legal protection.

So what does the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution, written in 1791 and 1868 respectively, hold for Americans today in regards to right of privacy from a private organization. Restrictions imposed by the Fourth Amendment are effective against the federal government only, with the Fourteenth Amendment imposing privacy restrictions on state and local government. In short, neither Amendment is effective against private entities (3).

With little help from the U.S. Constitution, employees must rely on the state in which they work to provide the legislation that will eliminate employer invasion of privacy. Many states are considering the acts of private organizations and, thus, passing laws to give back some of the privacy to employees and citizens. The following chart shows some of the examples of recent restrictions put on companies (4).

Employer’s Activities Involving Rights of Privacy in the Pre-Employment Process

Organizations understand that in order to get the best workers, they must choose their employees carefully. Information gathering is the key ingredient to eliminating the bad applicants. The opportunities to gather personal background information on potential employees has increased due to the availability of computer databases containing millions of records of personal data. Today, more employers are being sued for “negligent hiring” for not checking carefully into the background of a potential employee. If an employee’s actions injure another individual on the job, then the employer may be liable. This is a major driving force into the reasons companies are researching so extensively. Also, the cost of retrieving information has decreased significantly and organizations are finding it more feasible to conduct extensive background checks.

The following is a list of the various information an employer can get through public access using an Internet based background check service for a price of roughly $100 (5): Subject’s name and any aliases; Social Security Numbers (SSN); State where SSN was issued; Number of SSN’s used; Date of birth; Address history; Possible relatives; Telephone numbers; Neighbor interviews; Current neighbors names, addresses, and phone numbers; Medical records, Driving records; Veh