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California Supreme Court Clarifies Workplace Privacy Limits In Video Surveillance Case.

Article Excerpt
Balancing employee privacy rights and an employer's right to monitor its workplace is a challenge. In Hernandez v. Hillsides, Inc., the California Supreme Court clarified the law in this area and articulated important principles regarding workplace privacy.

The defendant employer ran a nonprofit residential facility for neglected and abused children. When the facility director learned that company computers were being used after hours to view pornography, he installed a hidden video surveillance system in the shared office of the two female plaintiffs in an attempt to catch the offender. The plaintiffs' office was chosen for surveillance because one of their computers had been used for prohibited web surfing; however, neither plaintiff was suspected of any inappropriate conduct. On three occasions over a three week period, the director activated the video surveillance system after the plaintiffs left work for the day, and disabled the system before they returned the next day. The plaintiffs were not at risk of being monitored or recorded and were never actually filmed.

The plaintiffs later discovered the hidden video surveillance system, and sued Hillsides for invasion of privacy. The trial court dismissed the case. However, a court of appeal reversed, finding that the mere presence of the surveillance equipment in plaintiffs' office created a triable issue on their privacy claims. The California Supreme Court reversed and dismissed the case, holding that, under the circumstances, "no reasonable jury could find in plaintiffs' favor."

To succeed on an invasion of privacy claim, a plaintiff must prove that he or she had...

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