We recently came across “Best Practices Regarding Employee Computer Use,” written by Dandford Grant, a partner at Stafford Frey Cooper law firm, and thought it could be a great resource for Wavecrest customers and others thinking about implementing a filtering or monitoring solution. The paper discusses employee privacy rights, monitoring and surveillance of employees, and recommended policies & practices. It also gives examples of past legal cases and their rulings.  Below are a few highlights and good points to take away from the paper.

• “In most situations, a certain amount of monitoring is good business and may be required.”
• An employer should inform employees that Internet and email use will be monitored.
• “Monitoring should be fair and consistent,” i.e., run and review the same reports regularly and dig deeper when the data warrants it.
• Most importantly, communicate with employees frequently about your organization’s acceptable use policy and best practices when using email and Internet sites, such as social networks, blogging, etc.