Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

As technology grows so does the level of sophistication in methods used by employers to monitor the workplace activities of their employees. The proliferation of such surveillance practices has led to an increase in the number of employer-employee disputes regarding evidence gathered through workplace monitoring. The author takes an in-depth look at the history of such matters in arbitration, detailing trends in arbitrator decisions and examining whether evidence gathered by various surveillance methods is admissible in arbitration.

According to a Gallup poll, 90% of all large companies, 64% of midsize companies and 42% of small businesses use e-mail. Forty million workers correspond via e-mail, and that number is increasing by 20% per year.1