NFIB

Drafting an Internet Policy for Your Employees
04/ 11/ 2002

by Tamara Holmes

If you monitor your employees' Internet usage, you're not alone. According to a survey conducted late last year by the American Management Association, the ePolicy Institute and US News & World Report, 61.6 percent of employers surveyed monitor their employees' email and Internet connections.

Monitoring tactics are far from unwarranted, particularly when it comes to potential legal problems. Who hasn't heard of a case in which an executive's old emails come back to haunt him in the middle of a court proceeding? Of the surveyed employers who monitor their employees, 68.3% say legal liability is the main reason they scrutinize their employees' Internet usage.

However, employers must make sure their employees know about such policies. Businesses can avoid headaches like wrongful termination suits by having workers acknowledge that they've read a company's Internet policy in writing, says Nancy Flynn, author of The ePolicy Handbook, a guide that helps employers come up with an Internet policy.

An Internet policy is useless if none of the employees know that it exists. For that reason, Flynn suggests that employers do everything they can to get it in the face of their workers. If you're introducing an Internet policy for the first time, it's wise to review the policy with each employee, and have everyone sign off on the policy once they've read and agreed to it.

For new hires, Flynn suggests that a copy of the Internet policy be included in orientation papers and the employee handbook. That way, they start off having a clear understanding of what is expected of them when it comes to Internet use.

But what exactly should be in such a policy? Flynn says it's important that employers use strong language that tells employees that the network is a business tool and should be used as such. Employers should also explicitly state in the policy that they may monitor employees' Internet and email use, so there aren't any surprises down the road.

It's a good idea to include information about the company's harassment and discrimination policies, since these can easily take place via email. Employees should be made to understand that a simple joke or image sent via email could possibly offend someone, and may even lead to a lawsuit not only against the sender, but the company as well.

Information about computer viruses and their dangers should also be included in an Internet policy, along with tips for avoiding them. Likewise, employees should be made aware of the legal consequences of software piracy and understand that they can be putting themselves and the company at risk by downloading and using software that they don't own the rights to.

While most of the suggestions have to do with restricting behavior, Flynn suggests that employers allow some personal use of the company's email system, if only for the sake of morale. Since employees spend most of their days on the job, a moderate use of the email system to send personal messages shouldn't be discouraged. In fact, the Internet policy might state such a fact. At the same time, the policy should make it clear that excessive use of the system for personal reasons will not be tolerated.

The key, Flynn says, is educating employees about the risks associated with the Internet. And while it may be tempting to email employees your Internet policy, this is one occasion where it's better to print it out and give them a hard copy instead.

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