If you believe your employer is subjecting you to an unreasonable invasion of privacy in your workplace, a lawsuit against your employer may be the most effective means of justice.
Employers should refrain from unreasonable surveillance methods and aim to protect their employees’ rights (as defined under the California Constitution).
If an employer takes advantage of excessive surveillance methods or harshly invades an employee’s privacy, the employer may be held liable.
To file such a suit or bring an invasion of privacy claim before the state of California, you must establish three key elements:
- alegally protected interest of privacy
- a reasonable expectation of privacy
- and a serious invasion of privacy
An attorney can help you decipher and identify each of these three pillars of workplace privacy invasion. Once you’ve exhibited the three elements (listed above), your employer will have an opportunity to demonstrate whether his intrusion was motivated by a business reason.
Note: An employer can monitor workplace communications related to the business or establishment.
A California employer may be liable if they violate your reasonable expectation of privacy in several circumstances.
Intrusion upon Seclusion
In this case, your employer intrudes upon your solitude or your private affairs.
An example of an employer intruding on their employee’s solitude would be prying into an employee’s private affairs. For instance, if the employer reads the employee’s private emails on the employee’s personal phone, the employer can be held liable for the intrusion of solitude.
You may hold your employer liable for the intrusion of solitude with the help of an attorney
Your claim is likely to be successful if it demonstrates your employer’s actions would be strongly offensive to a reasonable person.
Appropriation of Name or Likeness
Should your employer use your name or your likeness for their own personal gains or benefit without asking for your consent, this would be an invasion of privacy, and you could file a claim.
Note: Be sure to check any paperwork you may have signed for your employer that could have included a waiver asking for your permission in such instances. In this case, you may not have a strong claim against your employer.
Publicly Disclosing Private Facts
California law defines disclosure of private facts as public disclosure of private facts about an individual that would offend the average person that was not of legitimate public concern. The defendant publicized private facts with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity.
Private facts are details of your personal life that others do not know, like your finances, sexual activity, or confidential health information. Disclosure is deemed to offend the average person when it stuns commonly held standards of decency. A disclosure not of legitimate public regard is of little social value yet deeply violates a person’s privacy. Lastly, exhibiting reckless falsity or misconception requires demonstrating the defendant was aware of how offensive it would be to reveal such private facts but did so anyway.
False Light
A False light claim is very similar to defamation. You may sue your employer for publishing misleading but not technically false information. In this instance, the employer must have constructed a publication about you in reckless disregard that placed you under a “false light” (this could be creating a false impression of yourself, your reputation, or events) and would be embarrassing and offensive to the reasonable person.
As an example: if an employer allows you to take time off work to seek treatment for mental health issues, alcoholism, or substance abuse, but then the employer distributes a workplace email describing you’re an alcoholic and warning other employees not to serve you alcohol at the company holiday party. While there may be some truth behind the email (regarding the employee struggling with alcoholism), this would be a gross invasion of privacy and abuse of the employer’s power.
Situations that are NOT an Invasion of Privacy
Invasion of privacy claims that don’t fall into one of the aforementioned categories or where a reasonable expectation of privacy was not present may not be eligible for this type of claim.
- Leaving a private note or letter in the lunchroom at work, an employer happens to pick up and read the letter. In this case, since the employee left out the note in a public space, they cannot claim to have expected privacy. However, this may be a claim if the letter was concealed in the employee’s purse/backpack and the employer went through the personal belongings found and read the letter.
- Your employer repeatedly calls you outside of work but stops once you ask them to stop calling you during those hours. However, if your employer continues calling after you ask them to respect your right to privacy, they may be invading your privacy.
- The employer reads the employees’ work emails. The employer had employees sign a technology waiver beforehand (which stated their intentions to read any at-work communications like emails); this would not be a circumstance of privacy violation in the workplace. When an employee uses company technology, the email account is not personal or confidential property to the employee.
What Can You Do if Your Privacy Has Been Invaded at Work?
If you believe your privacy may have been invaded or breached in the workplace, the best course may be to consult with an experienced California employment attorney. A skilled attorney can help you identify whether and how your privacy is being infringed at work. The employment attorneys at SANFORD A. KASSEL, A Professional Law Corporation can help assess your case if you feel your rights as an employee have been violated.
