A careless e-mail with a phrase like, 'We'll handle this situation differently than usual' could be trouble if your company is sued. Here's six ways to cut your risk.
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Dear Annie: I'm in HR at a medium-sized company that is being sued by an ex-employee who was laid off and is now alleging age discrimination. His lawyer has filed a discovery request that includes all of the e-mails of certain managers here over a given period of time, and this has got the whole place in an uproar. Our own attorneys are telling us we need a better e-mail policy, since all we have right now is the standard notice that the computer systems belong to the company and can be monitored at will.
My question is, do more detailed policies work? I really doubt that telling people what they can or can't say in e-mails has any effect on their day-to-day behavior. I'd be interested to hear what you and your readers think. -No Name, Please
Dear NNP: Since the courts began including e-mails and text messages in the definition of "documents" a few years ago, says Andrea Bernard, a partner in employment law and litigation at Warner Norcross & Judd in Grand Rapids, Mich., "we're seeing thousands upon thousands of electronic discovery requests - about as many as there are lawsuits" against companies.
"Unfortunately, there is this culture of carelessness about e-mail," notes Bernard, who specializes in advising employers on e-mail policy. "People will write something in an e-mail that they would never dream of putting on paper on company letterhead. Yet these days, it is exactly the same thing."
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Source: money.cnn.com
By: Anne Fisher
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