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Public Employee Press
Beware the Internet:
Big Brother is watching By GREGORY N. HEIRES Think twice
before using eBay at work. With surfing the Web and sending e-mail so commonplace
nowadays, many workers mistakenly assume its OK to venture freely into cyberspace
on the job. But the reality is that you should be very careful about
going online at work. In the Internet age, employers are increasingly citing excessive
or inappropriate Internet use to reprimand, fine and fire employees.
Be cautious, said DC 37 General Counsel Eddie M. Demmings.
Take a close look at your agencys rules. You may be surprised to find
out about a lot of restrictions, which management has the right to impose because,
after all, you are using their equipment. Electronic
snooping Its not uncommon, of course, for employees to send
personal e-mails from work. These days, many of us are as comfortable with electronic
communications as we are with Alexander Graham Bells device. But
just as you can be disciplined forexcessive or improper phone use, you can be
subject to charges and even lose your job for your e-mail use. Sometimes,
management uses e-mail and Internet history to go after employees they want to
discipline or get rid of for other reasons. The downside of using the
Internet at work became clear in May when Schools Chancellor Joel Klein fired
a personnel manager who had been brought up on charges for excessive Web surfing,
lateness and leaving work early. An administrative law judge, in a non-binding
opinion, recommended that the charges be dropped in part because the Internet
has become the modern equivalent of a telephone or a daily newspaper, providing
a combination of communication and information that most employees use as frequently
in their personal lives as for their work. Worried by reports that
members had taken the ALJs opinion as a green light to use the Internet
as they please, Data Processing Personnel Local 2627 has used its shop stewards
network and Web site (www.local2627.org)
to warn members to be wary. Clerical-Administrative Local 1549 and others have
also advised members about their use of city computers. We emphasized
that the judges recommendation was not binding and therefore cannot be relied
upon to justify surfing the Web at work for personal use, Local 2627 President
Edward W. Hysyk said. As leaders of a local of computer workers, Hysyk and Vice
President Gary Goff have a natural interest incyberspace and the workplace. And
as union leaders, they take the subject very seriously. Over the years, they have
often defended members on grave charges involvingalleged inappropriate or excessive
Internet use. You should just assume Big Brother is watching,
said Goff. Its an unfortunate reality of the modern workplace that
employers can monitor your e-mail and Web site visits. Whenever
possible, the local has managed to convince agencies to drop charges or at least
lessen the blow of disciplinary action. In some instances, the union has saved
members jobs. There are misconceptions out there, Hysyk
said. Some people believe you are free to surf the Web during your legitimate
break time or meal time. But you really dont have any legal right
to do that, so be very careful. Taboo:
porn, stock trades There is a big gray area here, he
added. Of course agencies should be reasonable about personal use of the
Internet and e-mail and we will always defend our members. But you need to know
your agencys policy and be aware of the accepted practices in your office,
or you could run into trouble. Prohibited uses typically include
on-line stock transactions, unauthorized political activity, conducting personal
business, buying consumer goods, sending mass e-mails, creating or downloading
unauthorized video, sound or digital images, and viewing and downloading pornographic
or discriminatory material over the Internet. The local has defended workers who
have been confronted by management with records of hundreds of visits to porn
sites. Hysyk noted that some workers believe they can cover their tracks
by erasing their Internet history and deleting e-mails. You may
think you have gotten rid of your electronic trail, but most agencies have software
that monitors your computer use and can restore deleted files, he said.
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