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The perils of privacy

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No secrets in Connecticut

Companies have the right to monitor their employees' online actions, and in every state but one they also have the right to do so without informing their workers.

The state of Connecticut last year passed legislation mandating that employers inform employees of when and how they will be monitored.

California tried to follow suit this year, but Gov. Gray Davis vetoed the bill.

"We were very concerned, given the increase in calls we were getting from people who thought the law was being violated by their boss rummaging through their e-mail," says Joe Grabarz, executive director of the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union in Hartford. "Most employees thought that since their boss didn't open their mail, he wouldn't open their e-mail. This doesn't ban that, but it makes employees aware that it's happening."

Despite this "paltry" law, Grabarz says Connecticut is far ahead of any other state. "We forget the measure of someone's job performance is productivity. The bigger picture is creating a workplace where employees are happy doing what they do, and that means carving out some privacy."

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