suppose you work at an office and one day you miss work. the next day you come back and you find out that a co-worker and the assistant manager (of the company) went into you office and looked through everything, knocked some stuff over, and took some files. Is this lawful? can they technically do this without having your consent.
2007-03-08 09:22:05 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
First it is important to understand that in the American legal system everything must be taken on a case by case basis. Although we work on precedents there is nothing set in stone as it is in the continental civil law system seen in continental Europe and elsewhere. That being said, the first issue is ownership of the office AND the furniture within...the company and it's officers (namely your boss) are permitted to enter offices owned by said company at their own discretion and view things that are both in plain sight and within furniture they provided. However, if they were to go rummaging around in say a desk or file cabinet that you provided they would immediately find themself in a gray area. I say gray area because there is a reasonable expectation that goods belonging to the company would be held within. The only real claim you might have to privacy is if a personally provided compartment was locked and they broke into it. I highly doubt that this was the case, so the short answer is that yes. They may on a whim enter an office they own and seize anything they are looking for that relates directly to the running of that business.
2007-03-08 09:57:07 · answer #1 · answered by G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Consent depends upon authority and control.
In most company settings, the company owns the office, the work files. So, any "consent" would be by the company. Also, in most situations, the company implicitly has access to any personal items you store in "their" office space. You probably gave that consent when you became an employee put those items in company space. Check your employee agreement, or the company policies.
So, the assistant manager, as an agent of the company, probably has every right to be on company property, to enter rooms or areas owned by the company, and to examine files or paperwork owned by the company. Whether they can search or interfere with your private property is a different matter, but the answer is probably yes as long as it wasn't damaged.
2007-03-08 09:29:59 · answer #2 · answered by coragryph 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sure can - your workspace belongs to your employer. Now he cannot take your personal items, but if the files belong to the company or contain company info then he is entitled to them.
Nothing is "personal" in an office - you brought it onto your employers property therefore he has the right to know what is in his office.
2007-03-08 09:27:43 · answer #3 · answered by Susie D 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Certainly is. Those files are work product and company property. An employer has every right to know what is on his property.
2007-03-08 09:37:38 · answer #4 · answered by free_eagle716 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋