Obtain Consent to Access Private Information

In addition to providing advance notice, obtain consent from employees to search or access information stored in email or voice mail.

Obtain consent in writing in advance. Keep on file a written acknowledgment from each employee that they have received, read and understood the company’s policy about access to electronic information. If your employee handbook includes an electronic information access policy, you can include this acknowledgment in the general acknowledgment of receipt for employee handbooks. You can also create a separate document entirely.

In addition, it is best to obtain consent from an employee at the time you access