Is this an invasion of privacy?

Question

Ok, i work at a call center for a bank. As such we have a monitoring agent installed on our avaya phones which records conversations. Recently our manager informed us that the QA department could hear the conversations we were having, even when we were in Mute, and not on a call. She also stated that she would take action against these individuals if these conversations continued. Is it legal for my employer to monitor me when not on a call, and to take action against me for a private conversation?

Answer 1

Sure they can monitor and listen to you. It's their office, their time, their phone.

Answer 2

According to the excellent Free Library Management website on U.S. Employment Laws http://www.managementhelp.org/legal/emp_law/topics/privacy.htm, yes and no. To wit :

Telephone Monitoring

Can my employer listen to my phone calls at work?

In most instances, yes. For example, employers may monitor
calls with clients or customers for reasons of quality control.
However, when the parties to the call are all in California,
state law requires that they be informed that the conversation is
recorded or monitored by either putting a beep tone on the line
or playing a recorded message. (California
Public Utilities Commission General Order 107-B.) Not every
business is aware of this requirement, so your calls might still
be monitored without a warning. Federal law, which regulates
phone calls with persons outside the state, does allow
unannounced monitoring for business-related calls. (See
Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC 2510, et. seq.)

An important exception is made for personal calls. Under
federal law, when an employer realizes the call is personal, he
or she must immediately stop monitoring the call. However, when
employees are told not to make personal calls from specified
business phones, the employee then takes the risk that calls on
those phones may be monitored.

Privacy Tip: The best way to ensure the privacy of your
personal calls made at work is to use a pay phone or a separate
phone designated by your employer for personal calls.

If I wear a headset, are my conversations with co-workers
subject to monitoring?

Yes. The conversations you have with co-workers are subject to
monitoring by your employer in the same way that your
conversations with clients or customers are. If you wear a
headset, you should use the same care you would if you were
talking to a customer or client on the phone. Some headsets have
"mute" buttons which allow you to turn off the
transmitter when you are not using the telephone.

Can my employer obtain a record of my phone calls?

Yes. Telephone numbers dialed from phone extensions can be
recorded by a device called a pen register. It allows the
employer to see a list of phone numbers dialed by your extension
and the length of each call. This information may be used to
evaluate the amount of time spent by employees with clients.

Employers often use pen registers to monitor employees with
jobs in which telephones are used extensively. Frequently,
employees are concerned that the information gathered from the
pen register is unfairly used to evaluate their efficiency with
clients without consideration of the quality of service.

Check the employee surveillance laws of your state against the above. Each state may have different rules.

Answer 3

It's not an invasion of privacy because your boss has given you fair warning. You are using his property, after all. However, if an employer monitored your phone usage or Internet use without informing you of that fact and then penalized you somehow with any information he gathered, then you would have a case because various civil trials have ruled that employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy when using such devices (unless otherwise notified by the business owner).

Answer 4

Unfortunately they do have that right. My company sent out a "reminder" to all employees yesterday that all communication media (phone, e-mail, internet etc) can be monitored at the discretion of the management. They may even be recording my key-strokes right now (if so, bite me, management!!). Check your HR website, they probably have a policy posted there that says the same kind of thing.

Answer 5

Yes-I used to work in a call center and private conversations were considered 'non-productive time'. Especially when you are waiting for a call to come in.

Answer 6

When you are on the job and getting paid you are supposed to be working to the benefit of your employer, not spending time in idle chit chat. The only privacy you are entitled to at work is in the bathroom.

Answer 7

No, you are using their resources, and you did have knowledge that it had recording capabilities. The QA department is just doing their job, assuring the work is quality.

Answer 8

does your employer permit the use of the companies phones for private use..if they do it's an invasion of privacy..if they don't..yes because they do have a right to monitor their phones..use a cell phone and don't worry about it

Answer 9

Yes, it's perfectly legal. You are on their time. It's like shopping on line at the office. There is nothing that you are saying that can't be said after work if it's personal.