The Fourth Amendment provides protection to all individuals
in the government sector against unreasonable
search
and
seizure of their home, personal property.
However, to receive the protection, an employee must
have a reasonable expectation of privacy. The employee
cannot be searched if there is no reasonable ground
of suspicion and all searches should be conducted
in a manner that is reasonably related to the objective
of the search and not excessively intrusive.
Exceptions
 |
The employee does
not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in
a desk or filing cabinet shared with colleagues
or a work area exposed to the public. |
|
Office searches are permissible,
if the employee has a reasonable basis for suspecting
the employer of wrong doing and the search is
confined to non-personal area of his/her office. |
|
Office documents relevant to
the company are the property of the employer and
can be searched anytime. |
Most private sector employers are
not covered by this doctrine and there is no law which
stops employers from using different technique when
suspecting the employee of misconduct. This includes
searching the employee’s office or locker without
his /her prior permission and requesting the employee
to open his/her briefcase or package on leaving a
company facility.
However, the employee cannot be searched to discriminate
because he/she belongs to a protected class. During
the search, the employee cannot be physically,
verbally abused or threatened. In most cases,
the employer cannot conduct a search in areas which
is truly private. The search cannot be conducted in
front of third party that harms the reputation of
the employee. The employee can sue the employer, if
he/she was wrongfully searched and then fired, demoted,
suspended, reprimanded or put on probation.
