Law: 4 ways to lose your job using the Internet

Virtually all of us now use a computer, tablet or mobile device daily to perform a variety of work related tasks. And a recent study showed that 91 percent of adult Americans have a cellphone, half of which are smartphones that can connect to the Internet.

We also use these same devices for everything else in our lives - checking Facebook, shopping, booking trips, paying bills and even checking our children's grades at school.

The U.S. Supreme Court several months ago agreed to examine whether police can search an arrested criminal suspect's cellphone without a warrant that will showcase how the court is grappling with rapid technological advances.

But what about a private employer? Issues arise in a workplace when employees perform nonwork tasks on their smartphones, for example, during working hours.

Many employees forget that work time is for work, that the employer owns all work computers, tablets and mobile devices issued to employees, and that the employer owns anything you type into or store on the employer's electronic devices. Employees simply should have no expectation of privacy in such devices.

Excessive or careless use of the Internet or apps at work serves as solid a reason to terminate an individual's employment as poor work performance or excessive absenteeism.

Several years ago, for example, numerous employees at the Iowa Civil Rights Commission discovered the consequences of abusing work email firsthand. Those employees lost their jobs for sending thousands of gossipy emails attacking co-workers and assigning them derogatory nicknames.

The testimony at the unemployment hearings revealed that one employee sent an average of 75 personal emails per day, while another averaged over 130 nonwork related emails a day. On the other hand, in many workplaces there is tacit approval that employees will infrequently use electronic devices for nonwork reasons.

How does an employee know where to draw the line between infrequent use and excessive use? Before you are disciplined - or worse - for misuse of your electronic devices, remember these four problem areas:

1. Don't send derogatory or inappropriate emails on your work's electronic devices. Enough said.

2. Don't use your work's electronic devices to complain about co-workers, managers or the company.

While employees always have complained about their jobs, such complaints and rants can now be blogged, tweeted, posted, uploaded and disseminated to millions. Do not use your employer's email system to vent about your employer unless it is related to the terms and conditions of employment - that is, tax withholding practices, commission schedule and so on.

The National Labor Relations Board also has stated that employees have a right to engage in negative commentary about their employer on Internet forums beside employer-owned email, such as on a Facebook account. The right to discuss the terms and conditions of employment is the same for non-union and union employees under the National Labor Relations Act.

However, this does not include the right to post unprofessional and profane materials. An employer policy should be specific and state it will not tolerate postings that contain vulgar or harassing content, confidential information, intellectual property and the like.

3. Don't send too many personal emails during working hours. As the Iowa Civil Rights Commission example highlights, limit your personal emails to under 75 per day.

Kidding! While most employers will tolerate some personal emails, too many signifies that you do not have enough work to do or that you are not productive.

4. Don't disclose sensitive or proprietary company information in electronic communications on or off the job. You never know when your private email may be forwarded, even inadvertently, to someone who is not on a need-to-know basis.

You also may be breaching a confidentiality agreement you signed.

Many employers track how they are being discussed online. Larger companies also monitor employee Internet use and check for security breaches.

Your personal Internet and email usage may be flagged.

Wilford H. Stone is with Lynch Dallas Attorneys at Law, wstone@lynchdallas.com