How to protect info from employees' improper use after SCOTUS ruling

As an HR pro, you probably don't wake up most mornings with thoughts of criminal laws running through your mind. After all, most workplace rules don't carry any criminal connotations. When Joe forgets (again!) to turn in his timecard on time, you're not calling the police to have him arrested. But workplace policies sometimes do intersect with criminal law. For example, if an employee steals company equipment, embezzles company funds, or assaults someone else while on duty, law enforcement involvement and criminal charges may follow. To learn more, read on.

Facts

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed one criminal scenario: employees' unlawful access to workplace computers under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (CFAA). The Act says anyone who "intentionally accesses a computer without authorization" or intentionally "exceeds authorized access" commits a felony.

Police Sergeant Nathan Van Buren accessed a state law enforcement database to run a vehicle license-plate search for a "friend," who turned out to be part of an FBI sting operation. The search violated the employer's rules against using the database for an improper purpose, and the sergeant was convicted of violating the CFAA on the grounds his action exceeded his authorized access.

Supreme Court's ruling

On appeal, the sergeant argued the lower courts misread the CFAA and that it doesn't criminalize his access to the license plate database for an improper purpose. The Supreme Court agreed.