Workplace Privacy: What Supervisors Need to Know

Course Description:

Workplace privacy is an important issue for employers, supervisors, and employees alike. The organization needs to keep a lot of information about employees and has to take steps to prevent theft, violence, and other criminal activities. On the other hand, the laws and courts give employees certain expectations of privacy when they are at work. Achieving a balance between the rights of the organization and the rights of employees is critical to maintaining a safe, secure, and productive workplace.

Why “Workplace Privacy: What Supervisors Need to Know” Matters:

The main objective of this session is to help you understand workplace privacy rules and balance the rights of your employees with the rights of the organization. By the time the session is over, you should be able to:

• Recognize key workplace privacy issues.
• Understand laws and policies concerning workplace privacy.
• Know how to balance the needs of the organization to control the workplace with the privacy rights of employees.

Key Points:

• Employers have the right to control and protect the workplace for legitimate business reasons, such as preventing theft, protecting employee safety, and ensuring that business resources are being used appropriately.
• To achieve these goals, we may need to do such things as monitor employee activities, conduct workplace searches, make background checks on employees, and require drug and alcohol testing.
• These actions must always be balanced with employees’ right to privacy.