Authored by attorney Patrick A. Genzler
Electronic mail has become the de facto principal means of communication for most businesses today. And, in most businesses, email is widely used by many employees to perform company business. However, the ease with which we can communicate and transmit documents by email comes with certain risks, particularly when your company becomes involved in a claim, litigation or an arbitration.
Most attorneys who represent construction companies in litigation or arbitrations can tell stories of how a single email or an email chain became the ‘smoking gun’ that either made – or sank – their client’s case. It appears that most employees regard email as a private or confidential means of communication, and will often say things in an email communication that they would not say in a written letter or in person. Emails can include embarrassing personal information about company officers or co-workers, critical comments about your company’s work, or even allegations of misconduct or malfeasance by your company. You should be aware that:
The best advice you can give to your employees is:
Do not discuss company business on social media websites, such as Facebook or Twitter. These sources are not only discoverable in a dispute, but they are often available for public searching and reading.
Ensuring that your employees follow these tips can help avoid embarrassing and potentially damaging information from being “discovered” in any future disputes, and is a good business practice.
These articles are meant to bring awareness to these topics and are not intended to be used as legal advice.