In Wilhite v. HE Butt Co., 812 S.W.2d 1 (Tex.App. Corpus Christi 1991), the employee was accused of sexual harassment. His employment was terminated after many years at HEB. Mr. Wilhite sued for defamation and invasion or privacy. The district court granted summary judgment regarding the invasion of privacy.
On appeal, the Corpus Christi
We all know defense firms sometimes spy on opposing parties, but evidence of that spying is very rare. But, there was such evidence in one Georgia case. Cruz Mezquital sued a driver who was insured by American Family Insurance. She won a $30 million judgment. On appeal, the verdict was reversed. The higher court ordered
Increasingly popular during the pandemic are apps known as “bossware” and “tattle ware.” These software programs allow supervisors to track the work performed by work-from-home employees. These apps can monitor websites visited, log key strokes, take screenshots and even record video and audio. But, do such apps violate an employee’s privacy? Some states, such as
What happens when an employer obtains access to your Facebook page? In Galvez v. City of Katy, No. No. H-18-4221, 2019 US Dist LEXIS 20634 (S.D. Tex. 2/8/2019), we see an employer who accessed Maria Galvez’ Facebok page while she was out on leave. The City had access to her page, because Ms. Galvez
You may have heard about the school district in California that let some 2,000 students take home school-issued laptops, The laptops had webcams and a software program, Theft Tracker. Theft Tracker would take pictures with the web cam every 15 minutes, if the shool officials activated the program. Many laptops were reported stolen. So, the
Electronic monitoring in the workplace is still an area of developing law. It is clear that an employer cannot use bugging devices and phone wiretaps to discourage or monitor union activity. It is also clear that no one, including employers, can intercept “wire, oral, or electronic communication.” But, what is “intercept”? What does that
If an employer accesses an employee’s social networking site without permission, or worse, accesses the site under threat of termination, then the employer may be liable for a claim of invasion of privacy and violation of the federal Stored Communication Act. Such was the result in a federal lawsuit in New Jersey. Delaware Employment