Q. I work long hard hours, and every once in a while I take a break to call my friends from work. My company just released a new employee handbook, and I was alarmed to see that the company says it can monitor my phone calls made in my office. Can my boss really do that?
A. Yes, under limited circumstances. Generally employers can monitor business phones in the ordinary course of business, especially if the company notifies employees in advance that all company property is subject to monitoring. However, once an employer realizes that a call is personal, the employer must immediately stop monitoring the call or risk possible claims for violating federal or state laws. It would not prevent employers from enforcing a policy restricting the number of personal calls from work, though.
Also, kudos to you for reading your employee handbook. That's a huge first step in knowing and protecting your rights at work!
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