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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Privacy Law

Survey Of (Mostly Outdated And Often Ineffective) Laws Affecting Work-Related Monitoring, Robert Sprague Mar 2018

Survey Of (Mostly Outdated And Often Ineffective) Laws Affecting Work-Related Monitoring, Robert Sprague

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This article reviews various laws that affect work-related monitoring. It reveals that most of our privacy laws were adopted well before smartphones and the Internet became ubiquitous; they still hunt for physical secluded locations; and, because they are based on reasonable expectations of privacy, they can easily be circumvented by employer policies that eliminate that expectation by informing workers they have no right to privacy in the workplace. This article concludes that the future—indeed the present—does not bode well for worker privacy.


Employee Electronic Communications In A Boundaryless World, Robert Sprague Dec 2015

Employee Electronic Communications In A Boundaryless World, Robert Sprague

Robert Sprague

In 2007, the National Labor Relations Board decided that an employer could maintain an email communications policy that prohibits nonwork-related messages, even if those messages involved communications otherwise protected under the National Labor Relations Act. In December 2014, the National Labor Relations Board reversed this holding, but in doing so, limited its decision to just workplace email. This article argues that such a prescription is outdated and archaic in light of today’s modern workplace filled with communications devices and systems that blur the distinction between work and personal life. This article explains that such a prescription can cause employees to …


Welcome To The Machine: Privacy And Workplace Implications Of Predictive Analytics, Robert Sprague Apr 2015

Welcome To The Machine: Privacy And Workplace Implications Of Predictive Analytics, Robert Sprague

Robert Sprague

Predictive analytics use a method known as data mining to identify trends, patterns, or relationships among data, which can then be used to develop a predictive model. Data mining itself relies upon big data, which is “big” not solely because of its size but also because its analytical potential is qualitatively different. “Big data” analysis allows organizations, including government and businesses, to combine diverse digital datasets and then use statistics and other data mining techniques to extract from them both hidden information and surprising correlations. These data are not necessarily tracking transactional records of atomized behavior, such as the purchasing …


Intrusive Monitoring: Employee Privacy Expectations Are Reasonable In Europe, Destroyed In The United States, Lothar Determann, Robert Sprague Dec 2010

Intrusive Monitoring: Employee Privacy Expectations Are Reasonable In Europe, Destroyed In The United States, Lothar Determann, Robert Sprague

Robert Sprague

This Article examines the contrasting policy and legal frameworks relating to data privacy in the United States and the European Union, with a particular focus on workplace privacy and intrusive surveillance technologies and practices. It examines the U.S. perspective on modern work-related employer monitoring practices, the laws giving rise to possible employee privacy rights, and specific types of employer monitoring that may lead to actionable invasions of employee privacy rights. This article then addresses the issue of employee privacy from the EU perspective, beginning with an overview of the formation of authority to protect individual privacy rights, followed by an …


Invasion Of The Social Networks: Blurring The Line Between Personal Life And The Employment Relationship, Robert Sprague Dec 2010

Invasion Of The Social Networks: Blurring The Line Between Personal Life And The Employment Relationship, Robert Sprague

Robert Sprague

Over one-half billion people worldwide have registered accounts with Facebook, the most popular online social network. This article addresses some of the more significant employment-related legal issues arising from the growing popularity of online social networks. First, the need for employers to investigate the background of prospective employees is examined from the context of employers using online social networks to conduct those investigations. In particular, this article analyzes the degree to which job applicants have privacy rights in the information they post online. This article then examines the interrelationship between online social networks and employees, focusing on limitations faced by …


Electronic Surveillance In The Global Workplace: Laws, Ethics, Research And Practice, Roland Kidwell, Robert Sprague Dec 2008

Electronic Surveillance In The Global Workplace: Laws, Ethics, Research And Practice, Roland Kidwell, Robert Sprague

Robert Sprague

This paper considers the legal, ethical and cultural factors that must be addressed in evaluating the appropriateness of employing electronic surveillance (ES) in varying international contexts. It critically evaluates the rationale that underlies the use of ES in a variety of settings and types of organisations. It suggests guidelines for the adoption and use of ES and potential directions for future research.


Rethinking Information Privacy In An Age Of Online Transparency, Robert Sprague Dec 2007

Rethinking Information Privacy In An Age Of Online Transparency, Robert Sprague

Robert Sprague

No abstract provided.


Fired For Blogging: Are There Legal Protections For Employees Who Blog?, Robert Sprague Dec 2006

Fired For Blogging: Are There Legal Protections For Employees Who Blog?, Robert Sprague

Robert Sprague

No abstract provided.


From Taylorism To The Omnipticon: Expanding Employee Surveillance Beyond The Workplace, Robert Sprague Dec 2006

From Taylorism To The Omnipticon: Expanding Employee Surveillance Beyond The Workplace, Robert Sprague

Robert Sprague

No abstract provided.