Site Map - Legal Issues

04/28/2009 - A federal appeals court has denied a motion to rehear an employee monitoring case. The action means that a prior ruling—that a police department violated the privacy rights of its officers when it obtained transcripts of their text messages—stands. (See the October 2008 issue of “Legal Report” for a more detailed account of the case.) The court ruled that because officers had been told that their messages would not be read, the city had no right to access them without the permission of the officers. (Quon v. Arch Wireless, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 07-55282, 2009)

04/28/2009 - An employee who erased computer data and was later arrested for the crime cannot pursue his claim of malicious prosecution against his former employers. A federal appeals court ruled that the employee could not prove that the company acted without probable cause in turning the case over to the police. (Deng v. Sears, Roebuck, and Company, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, No. 07-3331)

04/28/2009 - Would knowledge of a confession influence your memory of a crime you witnessed? Researchers say it could. See the research online.

03/27/2009 - A woman who was fired after giving evidence against a coworker in a sexual harassment case may sue her employer. Also, Congress considers bills on privacy, firearms, and cell-phone use in prisons.

03/26/2009 - 128 Number of DHS Safety Act certifications issued from 2004 through February to limit security vendors’ liability.

03/24/2009 - A bill (S. 141) introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) would make it illegal to display, sell, or purchase Social Security numbers without the consent of the owner. Under the bill, the government would no longer be allowed to print Social Security numbers on checks, and businesses could not require customers to provide Social Security numbers when purchasing goods or services.

03/24/2009 - A woman who was fired after giving negative information about a coworker during an internal investigation can pursue a sexual harassment retaliation claim against her employer, according to a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

03/24/2009 - A federal appeals court has ruled that a Muslim employee who was fired after 9-11 may sue his employer for discrimination. The court found that the evidence of discrimination, though circumstantial, must be brought before a jury.

02/27/2009 - A company is not liable for the assault on an employee during a robbery. Also, a new law addresses discrimination, and Congress considers data protection.

02/27/2009 - When issuing a national security letter under the Patriot Act, the government must justify the gag order that prevents the recipient from speaking out, according to a federal appeals court.

02/26/2009 - The advent of Web 2.0 technologies is making it easier for extremists to spread hate.

02/18/2009 - Employees who work in national intelligence agencies lack the whistleblower protections of other government workers. Provisions granting those protections, which had been attached to the stimulus bill, were dropped before the bill was signed into law by President Obama, reports The Washington Post.

02/02/2009 - The omnipresence of sophisticated CCTV systems and its impact on privacy has led one researcher to propose an opt-in facial blurring technology for people uncomfortable under the gaze of surveillance systems.