Friday, December 4, 2009
12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST
Playback: Monday, December 7, 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST

Erin Kuzz

Employer Counsel
Sherrard Kuzz LLP

Simon Renouf

Union Counsel
Simon Renouf Professional Corporation

Patrick Nugent

Union Counsel
Chivers Carpenter

Rebecca Saturley

Employer Counsel
Stewart McKelvey

ISSUES:

Twittering? Blogging? Facebooking? MSN-ing? Surfing the web? These and other activities have mushroomed in the workplace. What can employees do and when can they do it? What can employers prohibit and when can they prohibit it? These and other questions arise in workplaces where access to computers and the internet is commonly available. They may also arise even in situations where employees engage in such activities at home or via their Blackberries in off-duty hours, but the contents of such communications concern goings-on at the workplace. Our panel of experts will offer guidance on employers' and employees' rights and obligations in relation to the use and abuse of modern technologies in the Internet age.

• Do employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to e-mail messages, text messages, and personal files, such as bank statements, stored on employer-owned computers or phones? What if they are expected to carry devices such as Blackberries, cellphones or laptops? What about information stored on a third-party's server?
• What may employers do to discourage/prohibit non-authorized and non-work-related employee usage of internet and e-mail at work? What elements should be set out in a company's policies regarding the usage of computer and other electronic devices?
• What information should be provided to employees concerning the scope of monitoring and surveillance? Is consent required? Can employees assert any expectation of privacy where an employer has a policy banning all personal use of employer-owned equipment?
• Can employees be disciplined for views expressed on Facebook, blogs and other internet sites that reflect adversely on the employer or other employees? Does it matter if the employee does not use work time or computers to make the internet postings?
• What constitutes internet or e-mail abuse and when does it warrant discipline? When will discipline be upheld? Is the existence of an employer policy relevant/determinative?
• How does one find out what is being said, where, and by whom? About the employer and its brand? How can information be monitored, captured and preserved so that it is admissible and reliable evidence?
• How has technology changed the access employees have to business information and personal information about co-workers? What standards have arbitrators placed on employees respecting the privacy of co-workers?

$195, plus GST (Registrations must be paid in advance of the audio conference). Registration costs are per listening site/telephone, so you can have any number of people listening at your location for one low price. Click here for registration information.