The CSI effect: managing client expectations

The CSI effect: managing client expectations

December 31, 2007

When White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer asked members of his communications team to surrender their mobile phones for a search, it raised questions about whether employees have a right to privacy on work-issued devices, says Toronto labour and employer lawyer Deborah Howden.

As technology blurs the line between work and personal spaces, employer-issued devices such as cellphones and laptops are being used more often for personal tasks, and, as such, contain private and sensitive information about the user, she tells AdvocateDaily.com.

“In an ideal world it's smart to have separate cellphones for work and personal use, but it’s getting increasingly difficult to do that,” she says.

Before the advent of technology, Howden says it was much easier to draw the line between work and personal life, but it’s tougher now and that’s creating challenges for employers and employees.

“It used to be what you did on your own time away from the workplace was generally your business and what you did at work was the employer’s affair. But in the age of smartphones, the Internet and social media, that's changing, and what you do on your own time can have ramifications on the employer,” she says.

Organizations intent on ensuring that computers and other electronic devices are used strictly for business purposes should have clear policies stating that, says Howden, a partner with Shibley Righton LLP.

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