Failing
to investigate the activities of an employee whose company computer contains
pornography could leave your business wide open to a lawsuit.>
A New Jersey
case, Jane Doe v. XYC Corp., involved an employer who
learned that a worker was using his company computer to visit pornographic web sites
and share images with fellow employees. After he was convicted of videotaping
his 10-year-old stepdaughter nude and partially clad, the victim's mother sued
the company, arguing that its failure to investigate and report that the
employee was viewing, downloading, and distributing child porn on his work
computer led to the girl's victimization. The court held that because viewing
child pornography is a federal and state crime, the employer's knowledge of
this activity should have led it to look into this misconduct.
Viewing online porn in the workplace is all too
common. Consider that: 1) Approximately 70% of web traffic to pornographic
sites occurs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.); 2) Billions of pornographic e-mails go out
every day; and 3) More than 75% of
workers say that they have visited a pornographic web site "accidentally" at
least once, while 15 % have made 10 or more visits.
A number of states require businesses to report
child pornography on workplace computers to law enforcement or risk facing
criminal charges. To remove your employees' expectations of privacy in using
computers, let them know the company is free to inspect or monitor this
equipment, and have them agree in writing that they understand this policy.
What's more, other courts might well rule that the Doe decision applies to other illegal
activities by employees who use company computers to cause physical, financial,
or other harm to third parties.
A word to the wise.