Employers Must Provide Employees with Guidelines for E-Mail Communications

Electronic mail can be a lifesaver for busy employees; it can also be a noose.  Employers must ensure that employees follow guidelines to avoid problems that may arise if e-mails later become discoverable in litigation. 
 
The informal nature of e-mail communications leads many employees to say things via e-mail that the employees would never say in person or in a written memorandum.  For example, employees may recite offensive jokes or make rude comments about other employees.  Of even greater concern are the e-mails that begin, “You didn’t hear this from me…” or “This is off the record….”  Not only does the e-mail then become a record, but because of the incriminating introduction, a jury might believe the accuracy of the e-mail, even if the e-mail does not accurately reflect the truth or provide the full story. 

Employers should develop policies to address e-mail etiquette.  More importantly, employers should caution employees to always verify a communication’s recipients and to thoughtfully consider an e-mail’s text to ensure accuracy.—If an employee has any doubt regarding whether he can clearly convey a message electronically, the employee should arrange for an in-person meeting.  Simply put, perhaps the best recommendation employers can give employees is not to say anything in an e-mail that the employee would not want to see displayed on a giant screen in a courtroom. 

Dallas employment lawyers at Clouse Dunn Khoshbin are available to help employers develop policies to address these issues.  For more information, please write to info@cdklawyers.com.