Priority on Privacy : Poll Finds Californians, More Than Others, Oppose Employer Intrusions
More Californians than workers in the nation as a whole believe that employers should respect workers’ rights to privacy on the job, according to polls released Wednesday.
About 70% of Californians said employers had no right to inquire into their social activities and subsequently use that information as a basis for making employment decisions, a poll conducted by the National Consumers League reported. About one-quarter of the 600 people surveyed by phone over a five-day period disagreed and 6% were unsure.
Consumer advocates for issues relating to privacy in the workplace, not surprised with the results, point to a growing awareness in the public of hiring requirements made by employers concerned with drug use, sexual harassment and health in the workplace.
“The results of the National Consumers League survey are not surprising,” said Marc Rotenberg, a director for the Computer Users for Social Responsibility based in Washington. “California has been at the cutting edge of privacy protection for many years. There have been a number of good court cases regarding the subject.”
In recent years, the ability of an employer to gather information on a potential employee or current worker has grown. Credit reporting companies can readily provide information on an individual’s credit, insurance, medical, criminal, education and employment history.
Electronic methods of monitoring employee production are also common. And polygraph or drug testing has prompted some individuals and organizations to seek a clearer definition of a worker’s right to privacy, Rotenberg said. But employee concern and the rights of the employer must be balanced, said Thomas L. Pfister, an attorney for Latham & Watkins who specializes in employment law. Employers are under pressure to avoid serious mistakes in hiring as well as to run a clean operation.
“I’d have to agree with the Supreme Court when it said employees may have legitimate expectations of privacy in some parts of their work environment, but that has to be balanced against the employer’s need to supervise and efficiently operate the workplace,” Pfister said.
Compared to numbers nationwide, California was more sensitive to privacy rights of the individual. In a separate poll also conducted by the National Consumers League, 67% of about 1,200 people surveyed nationally believed that employers should not ask prospective employees probing personal questions in a job interview or in the workplace. Twenty-seven percent disagreed and 6% were unsure.
The league, which has addressed workplace issues since its formation in 1899, conducted the poll to educate consumers on the growing issue of privacy in the workplace and encourage them to be aware of their rights.
