The adoption and proliferation of mobile devices that are personal to employees but are used to service the needs of the business, or “Bring your own Device to Work,” BYOD, as it is called, is the latest nightmare for employee privacy in the workplace. While the U.S. government has taken a backseat and piecemeal approach to protecting the rights of its citizens when it comes to data privacy and protection, the need for legislation is most wanting in the private workplace. The coupling of companies’ dual-use-device mobile strategy with the escalating number of hours Americans spend on mobile devices has blurred the lines between employees’ work and their private lives, eroding any semblance of personal privacy. Although federal and state legislation have attempted to protect consumers from loss and theft of their data, employees have been left to fend for themselves.
Unfortunately, with no federal legislation protecting both an employee’s privacy and a company’s need to protect data, there is an impending legal crisis for both employer and employee. Most employees don’t understand the implications of using their own devices at work. Companies have attempted to write new employee technology policies and some, to force employees to sign waivers of liability for lost data when entering BYOD programs.
