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PRIVACY

Privacy

Privacy is a value, indeed a right that is fundamental to ones identity as a person.

However, all rights have limits; therefore it is important to understand the limits to an

employees right to privacy.

EMPLOYEE PRIVACYThree issues are examined with regard to privacy in the workplace:1) What is privacy?(2) Why is privacy a value?(3) What does a right of employee privacy entail?

CONSUMER PRIVACYThe manipulation of information gathered by marketers, especially for purposes of directmail advertising.

Definitions of Privacy

1. The right to be left alone.2. The right to have control over personal information3. A right not to have undocumented personal information known by others

Definit ion 1 The right to b e left alone.This derives from both the Warren and Brandeis definition and the decision in Griswold.Warren and Brandeis were concerned mainly with the publication of idle gossip insensational newspapers.

In the Griswold decision, Justice Brennan claimed that the right to privacy prohibits

government intrusion into such fundamental decisions as whether or not to beget a child.

Criticisms of this definition:

The main criticism is that the right "to be left alone" is overly broad.

Whereas individuals have a right to be left alone in most matters of religion andpolitics, the public has a right to know about some matters, such as campaigncontributions.

Some violations of privacy occur in situations where there is no right to be left alone,such as the workplace.

The Warren and Brandeis definition confuses privacy with liberty. A loss of liberty isneither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for a loss of privacy.

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Definit ion 2 The right to have control over personal inform ation.

Privacy can also be defined as control over information about ourselves.

Criticism of this definition:

It is too broad, since not every loss or gain of control over information about us is a

loss or gain of privacy.

Privacy cannot be equated with control, because individuals exercise control whenthey voluntarily divulge intimate details about themselves and thereby relinquish theirprivacy.

Definit ion 3 A right not to have undocumented personal in formation know n by

othersW.A. Parent defines privacy as a state in which certain undocumented (non-public) factsabout a person remain unknown by others.

The facts must relate to information that a majority of individuals in a given society do

not want widely known. The text contends that this is the most satisfactory definition ofprivacy.

The Value of Privacy

The mere fact that we desire privacy does not automatically mean that we are entitled toit. Philosophers and legal theorists have used both Utilitarian and Kantian arguments toshow the value of privacy and to defend it as a right.

Uti l i tarian Argum ents

1. Some Utilitarians claim that harm is don e to indiv iduals when inaccurate or

incomplete information about them is used by an employer in personneldecis ions.

The problem with this argument is that it assumes that the consequences ofinvading privacy produce more harm than good.

In addition, some invasions of privacy, such as surreptitious surveillance, areobjectionable regardless of the consequences.

2. Other Utilitarian arguments do not regard the harmful consequences as due solely tothe misuse of information; rather, a certain amoun t of privacy is held to benecessary for the enjoyment of s ome activ i t ies.

Invasions of privacy change the character of our experiences and, as a result,deprive us of the opportunity to gain pleasure from them.

3. Yet another Utilitarian argument is that privacy promotes a healthy sense ofindiv idu al i ty and freedom amon g memb ers of society and a lack of privacy can

result in mental and emot ional stress.

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Kant ian Arguments

Kantian arguments revolve around the concepts of autonomy and respect forpersons.

For example, surreptitious surveillance may do no harm to a person but still

diminishes a persons dignity and shows disrespect for that person. The victim:

Loses control over how he or she appears to others, and If people form incomplete or incorrect impressions of us that we have no

opportunity to correct then we are denied the possibility of being autonomous .

Criticisms of this Argument:

Not all instances where a person is unknowingly watched result in deprivation of thatpersons free choice.

A Third Argument

A more adequate justification, which combines Utilitarian and Kantian elements, derivesprivacy from an understanding of the way individuals are socialized in a culture.

According to this argument, a respect for privacy w ith respect to some matters is anessential part of the social izat ion process thro ugh w hich indiv id uals develop a

sense of personal identi ty and worth.

Justification of a Right of Employee Privacy

In the workplace, the main threat to employee privacy comes from the personal

information that employers gather in the ordinary course of business.

Issues that determine whether an employer respects the privacy of employees orviolates their right of privacy are:

a) the kind of information that is collected;b) the use to which the information is put;c) the persons inside and outside the company who have access to it;d) the means used to gain the information;e) the steps taken to ensure its accuracy and completeness; andf) the access that employees have to information about themselves.

The Purpose for Information GatheringThe justification for an employer possessing any personal information depends onthe purpose for which the information is gathered.

Companies are generally justified in maintaining medical records on employees, forexample, in order to administer benefit plans and monitor occupational health andsafety.

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An Employee's Right to Privacy is violated if:

1. the personal information is gathered without a sufficient justifying purpose;2. the information is known by persons who are not in a position related to the

justifying purpose; or3. persons who are in such unrelated positions use the information for illegitimate

purposes.

Resolving Disagreements about Purpose:Whether a purpose is legitimate can be determined by:

a) Showin g that it is necessary for the norm al condu ct of business. Thus,information that is necessary for complying with the law is legitimate.

b) Askin g wh at information both th e emp loyer and the emplo yee need in orderto form a val id employment contract . An employer is not able to freelycontract with an employee without having some personal information, but otherpersonal information is unnecessary for this purpose.

Disclosure to OutsidersGenerally it is moral ly object ionable for an employer to disclose personalinform ation to an outside party witho ut the emp loyee's cons ent.

However, neither an employer nor an employee can be said to own in the senseof having an exclusive and unrestricted right of access to and control of theinformation in a company's files.

The Means used to gather InformationA company must also justify the means used to gather information.

Examples of Impermiss ible Meansinclude polygraph tests, some integrity tests,constant monitoring, and pretext interviews. These procedures indiscriminatelycollect more information than is necessary and are often demeaning or degrading.

Accuracy, Completeness and AccessInaccurate or incomplete information can result in decisions that are unfair toemployees, and so steps should be taken to ensure both accuracy andcompleteness.

One such step is to allow employees to have access to information about th emso that they can chal lenge the inform ation or protect themselves from the

consequences.