To review or not review? Monitoring employee instant messages responsibly

In the post-COVID digital age, now more than ever, employees communicate with one another via instant messaging platforms such as the “chat” function available through Microsoft Teams. Such instant messaging exchanges can be a vital part of business operations since they allow real-time communication between team members regardless of whether they are in-office or working remotely.

Unfortunately, instant messaging is also a hotspot for gossiping, gripes, and grievances. Employees, operating under the often-erroneous assumption that their Teams chats aren’t saved by or accessible to their employer, use messaging platforms to complain about work, make fun of coworkers, exchange humorous “GIFs” and “memes,” and otherwise pass the time at work. This raises two questions: Can businesses monitor employee instant messaging chats, and if so, can a business take disciplinary action based on the content of those chats?

What’s the message?

Generally, in Nevada, you have a right to monitor information communicated by employees through company-provided computer systems. Before doing so, however, you should put employees on notice that such monitoring may occur, so as to head off any claim by the employee that they believed such communications were private.