NCJ Number
120515
Journal
Security Volume: 26 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1989) Pages: 38-41
Date Published
1989
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The right to privacy may be complicated by the misuse of financial, legal, medical, security, and other personal information collected by companies about their workers.
Abstract
Privacy advocates believe employees need protection from the government and from employers. Electronic surveillance, closed circuit television monitoring, performance monitoring, and testing are examples where privacy issues arise. In addition, computerized data bases complicate the privacy issue, since proper data base content and ways to release confidential information change constantly. The right to privacy is complicated in three basic areas: people disagree over what is a personal matter; sometimes the reasons for monitoring or recordkeeping outweigh the need to protect people from such intrusions; and people feel it is unfair to base important decisions on information that should not have been available. It is pointed out, however, that companies who specialize in collecting personal information are generally careful in corroborating facts, especially negative ones. The handling of background investigations, personnel records, and psychological and drug testing of employees can infringe upon privacy. By law, investigators should only collect information that is specifically needed and only use it for the purpose it was collected.