E-mail Privacy

[Barry Shein]

>	Is this legal?  Is this ethical?  If this person still worked
>here, I would immediately refuse.  But since they don't, do they still
>have any rights to their E-mail?  Right now, I am leaning towards refusing
>because I think a person's E-mail is theirs, regardless of their status
>with the organization.  Anyone have any other opinions on this?

Something to consider: Take the backed up e-mail and send it (tapes or
whatever) to the company's corporate counsel with a cover letter
explaining the situation as best you can and without being overly
colorful. You can then choose whether or not to agree to provide
technical assistance in moving it to a more convenient media if
requested in writing from corporate counsel or equivalent. Save any
correspondence.

That would get you off any legal hook as others have made the
decision, it doesn't sound to me like you have the authority within
the company to make such a decision. What if the employee later sued
the company for invasion of privacy? Would it be fair for them to say
that you provided the e-mail? Remember, rats desert sinking ships
fast, if it got to court there'd be a good chance that everyone would
try to blame whoever recovered the mail ("We didn't know where he got
this from...")

As to the ethical matters that remain, you'd have to search your own
conscience.

There is a real issue of employees leaving, particularly not in the
most congenial circumstances, and the fear/belief/knowledge that real
business is coming into their e-mail box that needs to be attended to
(e.g. customers who need to be redirected to new staff.)

I think it's safe to assume that it's the responsibility of the
employee to inform personal correspondents that the mailbox is no
longer valid for personal mail.

There's a fine line there, but it's important to make a cut-off and
make it clear to staff when this would be (say, one week after leaving
we consider any new correspondence in your mailbox our property and
assume it to be only business correspondence which needs to be
attended to.) It's also a good reason to try to cut off
employee-employer relations as amicably as possible, but lord knows I
know how hard that can be.

The same sort of problem arises with paper mail and ex-employees who
might be receiving business correspondence to their name.
-- 
        -Barry Shein

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