Who won this case? Armed employee says desk search invaded his privacy
September 18, 2008 by Sam NarisiPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Recent Decisions
Employers have a duty to keep their workers safe. But how far can they go without infringing on employees’ individual rights?
Read the facts of this real-life case and decide: Who won?
The facts:
An employee’s desk was searched after he submitted a questionable expense report for a company-issued cell phone. Nothing related to the expense report was uncovered, but the manager did find — inside a locked drawer — a pellet gun and ammunition. This violated a company policy against bringing weapons to work, and the man was fired. He sued, claiming the company invaded his privacy by searching his desk without his permission.
The employer said:
The employee had no right to privacy when it came to an employer-owned desk. The company didn’t need permission to search its own property.
Who won the case?
Answer: The employer.
Why: The court agreed with the company — the employee had no “reasonable expectation of privacy.” The desk was owned by the company and used for company purposes. Therefore, his boss had every right to search the drawers.
Cite: Ratti v. Service Management Systems, Inc.
September 24th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Great ruling…chalk one up for the good guys. What if this employee was fired/laid-off for business reasons, and decided he was going to do something about it? What if it hadn’t been merely a pellet gun? I’d sure hate to be the HR guy who let him go in that situation…
September 24th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Good call! I tell all of our new hires that they cannot expect their desks or computers to be private property. At one time an employee refused to give her supervisor the keys to her desk because she did not want the supervisor “snooping” in the employee’s absence. The supervisor never would have “snooped” and, thankfully, that employee is no longer with us.
September 25th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Someone with a pellet gun is NOT “armed”. Give me a break. And let’s all put our 2nd Amendment FIRST!
September 29th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I’m sorry, there is no legitimate business reason to have a pellet gun in your desk at work. And a pellet gun could certainly injure someone if they were shot in the eye or head.