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LJN NewslettersNewsSectionsThe Corporate Counselor

Navigating the Changing Technological Landscape

BY Fernando M. Pinguelo
July 29, 2010

In City of Ontario v. Quon, 560 U.S. ___ (2010), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a government employer's search of an employee's communications on an employer-issued pager was reasonable under the circumstances and, therefore, did not violate the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Court's narrowly tailored decision underscores that cases in the area of employee privacy will continue to be highly fact sensitive. Even so, Quon offers employers useful guidance with respect to up-to-the-minute issues in this area, and reaffirms some preventative measures that forward-looking employers should already have in place.

The Case

In Quon, the City of Ontario, CA (the “City”), issued pagers capable of sending and receiving text messages to members of the Ontario Police Department's (the “OPD”) SWAT team, including the plaintiff Sergeant Jeff Quon (“Quon”), for the stated purpose of helping the SWAT team mobilize and respond to emergency situations. Prior to purchasing the pagers, the City announced a “Computer Usage, Internet and E-Mail Policy,” which reserved all rights to monitor City employees' computer, internet, and e-mail activity with or without notice, and explicitly stated that employees “should have no expectation of privacy or confidentiality when using these resources.” While the written policy did not specifically mention use of the pagers to send or receive non-work-related text messages, the City made clear verbally and in writing to employees, including Quon, that pager text messages would be treated the same as e-mails under the policy.

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