CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS PAPER - Essay Example

regulate US commerce in such a way so as to limit the constitutional implications for employees.2 Kudler Fine Foods’ employees are subject to these limitations, particularly with reference to freedom of speech and protection of privacy. These constitutionally protected rights take on an entirely different complexion within the workplace. In general a company is at liberty to monitor employee telephone calls between an employee and a customer for the purpose of quality control. However, once all the parties to the telephone conversation are located in the State of California, the state law makes it mandatory that the parties are aware either by a beep or tone signals or recorded message that the conversation is being recorded.

4 This state law is mandated and indorsed by virtue of the Commerce Clause.5 However, telephone conversations between states are subject to Federal law and monitoring without warning is permissible.6 However, there is a national exception that requires an employer to cease and desist monitoring of a telephone conversation once it becomes clear that the telephone conversation is of a personal nature.7 The only real recourse for Kudler’s employees is to use either mobile telephones and/or payphones in order to protect their privacy in respect of personal telephone calls while on company premises.

The same policy generally applies to email contents. Typically the law recognizes that computers in the workplace are the property of the employer and that will include the electronic mail system. The right to privacy with respect to email messaging in the work place was addressed by the California Court of Appeal in Bourke v Nissan 1993. In this case the California Court of Appeal ruled that an employee who used his or her employer’s electronic messaging system on the work place did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy and no claim for invasion of privacy could be sustained in the circumstances.

8 Moreover, by virtue of the Computer