STEWARDS FORUM Q&A: Personal Use of Internet

CWA stewards are invited to send general questions for the Stewards Forum to cwanews@cwa-union.org.

Q: What should we advise members regarding personal use of the internet at the workplace?

A: This is a very common question. The first thing you should do is familiarize yourself with your employer's Internet-use policies. Most employers have them, and you should always advise employees to follow the policies created by the employer. Many employers recognize now that the Internet is like the telephone, in that employees cannot be expected never to use the resource for personal matters, but most seek to limit that use. Such policies should be read and followed although often there are ambiguities in these policies.
Generally, employees should seek to limit their personal use of the Internet to a small amount of time per day, and to use it mainly during breaks. Employees should stay off inappropriate sites.
Employees should always remember that they have no "right of privacy" when using their employer's computer: this includes personal e-mails, visits to web sites, files labeled "personal," etc. Anything you do on your work computer is at least arguably (legally) your employer's property. Generally, you have no right to expect that the employer will not look at any e-mail or document on your computer. Even deleted files usually leave a traceable record. If you are doing something you do not want your employer to see, NEVER do it from your work computer.
Some employees — for example, employees working in California, which have laws protecting employee privacy on the job — may not be subject to the same degree of employer monitoring. Nonetheless, the best rule is to be cautious.