ABA Family Legal Guide

Law and the Workplace

On the Job

Privacy in the Workplace

Can the employer read employee e-mail?

Although the law is still developing in this area, employers can monitor e-mails sent or received over employer-provided computer equipment. Currently, neither federal nor state law prohibits a private employer's access to e-mails stored in the company computer system. If the employer intercepts e-mail as it is being sent from or to computer equipment owned by the employer, there may be a violation of the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act unless the employer notifies employees that their e-mail may be intercepted. See chapter 10, "Computer Law," for more about e-mail on the job.