Module 6

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards summarizing major laws, policies, impacts, and monitoring practices related to technology in the workplace.

Technology Monitoring Rule

Assume all computer activity (email, websites, keystrokes, mouse movements, Teams meetings) is tracked by the employer.

Electronic Sarcasm Risk

Humor and sarcasm in electronic messages can be misinterpreted because tone and body language are absent.

Company-Only System Use

Policy stating that corporate hardware, networks, and software must be used solely for business purposes.

Location Data Capture

Automatic logging of an employee’s physical or network location while using company devices.

USB Device Monitoring

Employer tracking of data copied to or from removable drives to prevent data loss or theft.

General Technology Pros

Benefits such as improved efficiency, communication, organization, accuracy, and cost savings.

General Technology Cons

Downsides including stress, distractions, miscommunication, and health problems from overuse.

Absenteeism Solution

Use of video conferencing and remote access to work when not physically present.

Bridging Communication Gap

Instant messaging and email keep all employees updated on company changes.

ACM Code of Ethics

Set of professional conduct guidelines published by the Association for Computing Machinery.

EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

U.S. agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination and harassment.

ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act)

Law protecting workers aged 40 and older from employment discrimination.

Equal Pay Act

1963 statute requiring equal pay for men and women performing substantially equal work; addresses gender discrimination

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Law prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)

Law banning disability discrimination and requiring reasonable workplace accommodations.

FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act)

Sets minimum wage, overtime pay, and child-labor standards in the United States; addresses fair pay

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act)

Requires employers to provide a safe, hazard-free workplace and safety training.

Pregnancy Discrimination Act

Amendment to Title VII forbidding bias related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions.

Whistleblower

Individual who reports illegal or unethical practices within an organization.

Whistleblower Protection Act

Federal law shielding employees from retaliation for lawful whistleblowing activities.

Fair Dismissal

Termination based on just cause (conduct, capability, redundancy, or legal requirements) following due process.

FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act)

Entitles eligible employees to unpaid, job-protected leave and continued health coverage for specified family or medical reasons.

Employee Privacy Rights

Rights to secure personal storage, confidential records, private restrooms, and clear policies on employee rights and expectations.

ECPA (Electronic Communications Privacy Act)

1986 law regulating interception of oral, wire, and electronic communications in the workplace; permits monitoring of business property but not intentional interception.

Business Purpose Exception

ECPA clause allowing monitoring of oral and electronic communications as long as it shows that it was done for legitimate business reasons

Consent Exception

ECPA clause allowing monitoring when the employee has given explicit permission.

Workplace Cameras

Employer-installed video devices used to deter theft, monitor activity, and enhance safety in public areas.

Web Activity Tracking

Monitoring employee browsing, searches, social media, and logon events to measure productivity and risk.

Email Monitoring

Inspection and logging of employee email to detect policy violations or cybersecurity threats.

GPS / Location Tracking

Use of location data from devices or vehicles to improve logistics, recover assets, or protect mobile workers.

Call Monitoring

Recording and review of phone calls, typically in customer support or sales, for quality control.

Video Surveillance

CCTV systems used mainly for security, safety, and sometimes attendance verification.

Keylogger

Hardware or software tool that records every keystroke, posing privacy and security concerns; highly controversial

Time Theft

Receiving pay for hours not actually worked, such as extended breaks or unauthorized overtime.

Buddy Punching

Practice where one employee clocks in or out on behalf of another to fake attendance.

Pros of Employee Monitoring

• Reduces Employee Time Theft

• Helps to detect suspicious user activity

• General clarity of expectations

• Increased employee engagement and retention

• Increased productivity

• Boosts overall cybersecurity

• Monitoring Helps Enforce Company Policies

Cons of Monitoring

• Feelings of distrust

• May provide inaccurate or misleading information

• Employee monitoring can expose sensitive data

• Resource & Financial Requirements

• Invasive Monitoring May Lead to Legal Issues

Best Practice: Clear Monitoring Policy

Document outlining what is monitored, why, and how data will be used, shared with all employees.

Best Practice: Legal Compliance

Regularly reviewing state and federal laws to ensure monitoring methods meet regulatory standards.

Best Practice: Employee Notice & Consent

Informing staff about monitoring tools and obtaining acknowledgment or approval where required.

Best Practice: Block Undesired Content

Using filters to restrict access to harmful or non-work websites, reducing distractions and risks.

Best Practice: Practice Monitoring, Not Surveillance

Collect only business-relevant data during work hours, minimizing intrusion into personal privacy.

Best Practice: Respect Employee Privacy

Limiting data collection to necessary work information and safeguarding personal data from misuse.

T/F: As long as the company has a legitimate need to film, the areas under surveillance are public, and employees know about the filming, these practices are likely to be upheld by a court.

True

Monitoring Con: Legal Issues:

When monitoring employees in the workplace it is essential that for the employer to follow any laws or regulations that pertain to an employee’s privacy rights in the workplace.

Monitoring Con: Resource & Financial Requirements

Monitoring employee computer activity generates a large volume of data. Actively reviewing employee reports may be viable for a small business but it is not scalable, nor is it an efficient use of time for most use cases. For this reason, most organizations will not actively examine each employee. Instead, they will limit auditing to an as-needed basis or when the software alerts them to specific activities that they are monitoring for. Alerts are typically set for high-risk activities such as anomalous file transfers, attempts to visit inappropriate sites, or the use of unauthorized portable storage devices.

Monitoring Con: Can expose sensitive data

When you have so much access to employees’ data and digital activity, you’ll inevitably stumble upon personal material like bank account information, health records or profoundly private emails. If your system is hacked, employee privacy can be misused or exposed.

Monitoring Con: May provide inaccurate or misleading information

Typing and moving a mouse is a not a great proxy for knowledge work. It doesn't count phone calls as work, for instance. If you’re in marketing, spending hours on Twitter might be work. If you’re a writer, you should be spending more time reading than writing. An engineer might spend time watching tutorials. In real life, all this is productive time.

Monitoring Con: Feelings of distrust

Instead of boosting employee productivity, employee monitoring can backfire and hurt morale. Employees may feel you don’t trust them. When employees don’t feel empowered and trusted, increased turnover may result. 

Monitoring Pro: Helps Enforce Company Policies

Employers need to ensure that their employees are behaving in an appropriate and professional manner to avoid a hostile work environment. Having a formal computer use policy is an essential first step for communicating expectations to employees, but it’s not the full solution; monitoring is a valuable tool.

Monitoring Pro: Boosts overall cybersecurity

Computer monitoring software is used to ensure that employees are using company systems safely and handling sensitive information in a way that is compliant with the company’s security policies. 

Monitoring Pro: Increased productivity

One of the pros of using employee monitoring software is gaining the ability to detect early warning signs of disengagement such as excessive unproductive web browsing especially in a to work from home environment.

Monitoring Pro: Increased employee engagement and retention

Engaged employees are usually more creative, more productive, and more likely to develop high-quality relationships that help teams thrive.

Monitoring Pro: General clarity of expectations

When employees know what an employer expects from them, they have the blueprint for success. This helps employees feel empowered to do better work.

Pros of Employee Monitoring

• Clarity of Expectations

• Increased Employee Engagement & Retention

• Increased Productivity

• Boosts Cybersecurity

• Enforces Company Policy

Cons of Employee Monitoring

• Distrust

• Inaccurate/Misleading Info

• Exposes Sensitive Data

• Resource / Financial Reqs

• Legal Issues

Employee Monitoring Best Practices

• Clear Monitoring Policy

• Legal Compliance

• Notify Employees

• Block Undesired Content

• Practice Monitoring - Not Surveillance

• Respect Employee Privacyt

Employee Monitoring Types

• Web Activity Tracking

• Email

• GPS/Location Tracking

• Calls

• Video

• Keylogger

WEB ACTIVITY TRACKING BENEFITS

Provides detailed reports, highlighting how much time people dedicated to productive work; detects high-risk file transfers to removable media devices; verifies the active hours of staff and overall engagement.

EMAIL MONITORING BENEFITS

Detects unsafe or unauthorized file sharing; monitors the quality of staff communications; deters the use of inappropriate or offensive language; deters excessive non-work use of company-provided email accounts; monitors time spent on personal vs business emails; to meet cybersecurity standards.

GPS / LOCATION TRACKING BENEFITS

To recover company-provided mobile devices when they are lost or stolen; to improve productivity by monitoring the mileage and routes taken by company vehicles (truck or delivery drivers); to improve the safety of staff that are working in dangerous conditions (emergency responders, staff in remote locations)

CALL MONITORING BENEFITS

Quality control measure for call centers; ensure that employees are adhering to the quality standards of the organization; ensure the quality and consistency of sales calls; to prevent employees from using business phone lines inappropriately.

VIDEO SURVEILLANCE BENEFITS

To counter theft, violence, sabotage, and other undesirable behavior; safety of employees and theft of company assets; to monitor performance and attendance.

KEYLOGGER BENEFITS

Track the average words-per-minute of data entry employees; productivity monitoring; detect insider threats that are sharing private information or executing suspicious commands.

Examples of Time Theft

• Taking extended lunch breaks without permission

• “Buddy Punching”

• Exaggerating how much time was spent working on tasks

• Spending excessive amounts of time on non-work tasks

• Working unauthorized overtime

Two ECPA Exceptions

Business Purpose; Consent

T/F: A violation of ECPA compliance can result in: civil as well as criminal penalties.

True

What is the purpose of FMLA?

To protect the employee by giving them continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had never taken the leave. It also seeks to accommodate the legitimate interests of employers and promote equal employment opportunity for men and women.

Authorized reasons for using FMLA

• The employee’s own serious health condition.

• The care of an immediate family member with a serious health condition.

• The birth / care of a newborn child.

• The legal placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care.

• Certain situations related to a family member who military / active duty.

Who is eligible for FMLA?

1. Employee who worked for employer at least 12 months

2. Employee who worked at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months

3. Employee who worked at a location where the company employs 50+ employees within 75 miles.

What is an employee entitled to under FMLA?

• Up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for any FMLA leave reason (excluding military reasons)

• Up to 26 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for military reasons.

A fair dismissal commonly occurs for one of the following reasons:

1. Conduct: poor performance to severe misconduct

2. Capability: Inability to perform their job duties despite of support and time.

3. Redundancy: Occurs when an employee’s position is no longer necessary.

4. Legal: You no longer meet legal requirement necessary to carry out your job.

5. You can also have your contract terminated for some other substantial reasons outside of these four.

Protections Offered by Whistleblower Law​:

If an employer enacts these actions against an employee, he/she can face legal charges.​

• Promise termination

• Threaten to change compensation​

• Alter work conditions or terms​

• Change employment location or privileges​

• Cut pay or hours​

• Discriminate, harass, or suspend.

Under OSHA, an employer should provide:

• A clean environment.

• First aid equipment.

• Protective clothing (such as PPE when needed).

• Drinking water and washing facilities.

• Safe machinery for use.

Can employers can monitor your mobile at work?

In the US, employers can monitor an employee's personal phone under certain circumstances, such as if the employee gives consent or if the phone is being used for work-related purposes.

Can employers check your personal belongings work?

Employers must have a reasonable basis for a search, and the search must be confined to non-personal items. Searches of personal items, like handbags, generally cannot be searched unless the employer has a valid reason to do so along with prior consent. The answer to this depends on state laws.

Can an employer monitor an employee’s company-owned computer during work from home?

According to federal law and court cases, employers have the right to monitor your use of employer-provided equipment and computer networks, including what you type, your files, what web pages you visit, and your work email.

Negative Impacts of Tech in Workplace

• Communication/Messaging Breakdown

• Increased Employee Stress

• Distractions / Interruptions

• Pressure & Health Issues

T/F: According to CNET News, office workers are interrupted approximately every three minutes by emails, instant messages, phone calls or other distractions.  It takes eight minutes for the brain to achieve a creative state. Legitimate work-based interruptions and technology-driven distractions.

True

Positive Impacts of Tech in Workplace

• Job Openings (Job Loss)

• No More Old Tech

• Absenteeism

• Bridging Communications Gap

• Organization

• Accuracy / Efficiency

• Connectivity

• Cost / Time Savings