Happy New Year, everyone!!! Today's entry is a special request and very much related to the major constitutional issue of this new millennium - privacy. Specifically, just how much privacy do you have in the workplace? Can your employer place you under surveillance?
The answer here is a qualified "yes." Unlike your home, there is a lessened right to privacy at your employment. Florida recognizes the tort of invasion of privacy and, as regards your personal life, the stretch of this privacy is pretty broad. If you, for instance, decide to videotape whatever is going on in your neighbor's house without his/her consent or permission, your neighbor's privacy has been invaded and would have a claim against you (and would also likely accuse you of being a sicko).
At work, however, you are handling the assets - tangible and intangible - belonging to someone else, whether they belong to the employer himself/herself or the shareholders. As a result, many employers keep an eye on what those persons who have no fiduciary relationship to the asset owner might be doing.
From what I was able to find on my short journey down this road, keeping your employees under surveillance (by having other employees watch over them or by camera, etc.) to protect a legitimate business interest is ok provided it is not undertaken in a "vicious and malicious matter not reasonably limited to a legitimate purpose."
Sound inky, fuzzy, not clearly defined? You would be correct. There is no strict enumeration of what would be considered legitimate business interests (but the case law concerning legitimate business interests is pretty varied) and what constitutes a vicious or malicious manner is not well-defined. So, I'm going to tell you the same thing every law professor told us confused law students whenever we were looking for a bright line rule or a clear answer - "Each case is decided on its own particular facts."
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