At Work by Lindsey Novak

Q: I work for a privately owned company whose business slowly has been going down. I can see the writing on the wall, so I have started a job search in the industry and in other areas in which I could transfer my skills. I showed my resume to someone who commented negatively on my listing my work email address and work phone number on it. I am not an officer, but I am also not a lower-level employee. I'm the only one who uses my email and phone. Is it wrong to list it on my resume?

A: If you are not a company owner, the email and phone are not "yours." The email and phone systems are there for your use on behalf of the employer for company-related business. Your assumption that it is fine to use them for personal communication and therefore OK to include them on your resume is a common one, but not correct. You should list only your personal email address and phone number on your resume, regardless of whether your company has a formal policy on the personal use of company technology and equipment, such as email, phones and faxes.

According to Nikhil N. Joshi, who is a board-certified labor and employment lawyer in Florida and a shareholder at Kunkel Miller & Hament, one reason for employees to be careful when using an employer's computer/Internet/email system is that private employers generally have the right to review, monitor and reasonably restrict their employees' telephone and email/Internet communication conducted on company equipment. Many have workplace policies/rules authorizing the appropriate, limited use of company equipment for personal use. Even if private employers have no policies or rules, they still retain the right to monitor and limit communication, because their employees have no privacy rights when using company equipment, subject to certain restrictions. One such restriction is when an employer monitors a phone conversation/email thread and discovers the content is personal in nature; the employer must stop listening/reading but still can discipline the employee if the usage violated the employer's rules.

Joshi says there are good reasons for employers to retain the right to monitor and reasonably restrict use of the employer's communications-related equipment.

Significant recent developments have arisen regarding the use of Facebook and other social networking sites. Many employers restrict or limit use of the company's Internet system for personal business to break times, lunch hours or other times when employees don't work. Activity on such sites that falls outside of authorized Internet usage rules could open the employee to disciplinary action. Joshi says there have been a number of reported cases in which employers have fired employees for posting on Facebook or similar sites disparaging information (the time of day is irrelevant here) about employers or supervisors — many of which have led to legal challenges brought in front of the National Labor Relations Board, which recently has taken the position that an employee's posting of arguably factual (even if disparaging) information about an employer is "protected" activity under the National Labor Relations Act; thus, firings on that basis alone could potentially be found to be unlawful. The NLRA governs private employers, even those not unionized, contrary to common perception.

Joshi says that if an employer terminates an employee for misuse of company technology and equipment, it is in the employer's best interest to provide the employee the reason for termination, even though the private, at-will employer is not legally required to do so. Joshi advocates employers to provide a reason in most termination scenarios, though there may be certain compelling occasions in which no reason should be offered. Most states are "employment at will," which means private employers may fire an employee for any reason without explanation, as long as the basis is not unlawful. Although most employees have an idea of why they are being let go, giving no reason can lead the employee to conjure up conspiracy theories, which can lead to unwanted legal challenges.

Email Lindsey Novak at LindseyNovak@yahoo.com with all your workplace questions. She answers all emails. To find out more about Lindsey Novak and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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