In a closely watched decision that will undoubtedly impact both public and private employers, the Supreme Court of the United States recently held, in City of Ontario, California v. Quon, that the City of Ontario's review of a police officer's text messages transmitted on a City-issued device were reasonable and did not violate the Fourth Amendment. The City had issued pagers to members of its SWAT team for official use, each of which was allotted a certain number of characters sent or received each month before an overage charge would apply. The City maintained an electronic communications policy, notifying employees that the City may monitor usage and that employees should have no expectation of privacy. Following a series of overage charges incurred by Quon and other officers, the City reviewed text message transcripts to assess whether its monthly plan provided an adequate amount of coverage for the officers. Even assuming that Quon held a reasonable expectation of privacy in his text messages, the Court held that the City's review of the transcripts was reasonable and not violative of the Fourth Amendment because it was motivated by a legitimate work-related purpose and not excessively intrusive. The Court further stated that a similar search in the private employer context would also be considered "reasonable and normal." This decision reiterates the importance of maintaining and distributing clearly articulated electronic communications policies as well as ensuring that any review of employee use is reasonable, business related, and limited in scope.
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