Is it legal to physically search  employees?
818027
yes it's legal, depending on the business and what you agreed to when you signed hiring papers.  Also company policies that come into effect after hiring could apply if you signed.   The big print giveth.  The small print taketh away.
1012165
no but the internet can\n\nstart by doing city searches white and yellow pages in the city where you think the company might be
472038
It is very likely that your employes are monitoring your computer usage at work.  77.7% of major employes monitor their employees' internet, phone, computer and work activities.  The rules for workplace monitoring favor employers. There are no federal laws that regulate monitoring employees. Only two states, Delaware and Connecticut, have laws that require employers to notify employees if the company monitors them.  This is due to the fact that the computers in the office are supplied for the primary benefit of the company... not the staff person's personal use.\n\nCompanies maintain that by utilizing web based mail applications such as Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail, the employee is putting the business in much greater risk of viruses and worms entering the network.\n\nAn American Management Association survey, which involved 526 U.S. companies, states that about 25 percent of employers have fired workers for misusing the Internet; another 25 percent have terminated employees for inappropriate use; and 6 percent have fired employees for misusing office telephones.\n\nAnd it is very cost effective, at around $10 per employee per year for larger companies.  And keeping your passwords safe, clearing your cache and your cookies, and not having your computer remember any passwords will not stop your employer from being able to see what you are up to.\n\nComputer monitoring may include keystoke logging, software monitoring, or applications to view what you see on your monitor.  Sniffers placed on networks can also pinpoint employees who are using the network bandwidth by activities such as downloading music or listening to web based radio stations.\n\nMy recommendation if you want to be able to check your personal mail from the workplace and protect both your job and your privacy is to have a web enabled mobile device that you own to do this on.  If you intend to do this infrequently, then most phones with web access will work for brief usage.  If you will be doing this on a frequent basis, then you're better to go with a much faster private method, such as a Treo web enabled device.
520050
Assuming you mean monitoring employee's e-mail originating from company computers, I would not favor the law.  Employers lose millions of hours of productivity to online gaming and other personal uses of the internet such as personal e-mail, all on the employer's bill.  Employee use of internet resources should be monitored and those that abuse the system for hours each day should be docked pay for every hour they waste.
804740
If they have a warrant, or reasonable cause, to search the house then they can search all of it.\n\nIf they actually admitted they needed to go get a warrant then anything they have already found is inadmissible in court, due to illegal search.
83881
If you are using it at work, yes. they can look at any pages that was on a company computer/ server they can view and it is a legal right. What they cannot do is access your personal mail by hacking it or gaining your password.
127074
No, there is nothing that states that you must be present during a search.  Search warrants can even be executed when you are not home.  However, a list of seized items are to be left on the premises.
573530
I have done research on this and the two questions that are allowable by law are:\n\n1) Verify dates of employment\n\n2) Is this individual eligible to be rehired? \n\nHowever, there are many ways to get the information needed. Everyone knows someone who knows someone, and it goes on and on. If you fudge on numbers on your resume', job history, or on an application, it can be verified and then you are seen as a risk due to being dishonest. It's always best to answer honestly!
775721
I work for the DMV and I can tell you that it is absolutely forbidden to reveal other people's personal information, or to access that information as an employee without good reason.  It is both a legal AND ethical violation to do so.  Most states charge you a fee to provide you with limited information regarding vehicle registration, but they will also notify the subject of the search.  You can check in at your local DMV and find out if they waive the fee for a legal investigations.  Of course, it is always under the guidelines of state AND federal laws, and purely up to the discretion of any individual DMV if and what they will release to you.  Good luck in your pursuit.
423498
Access to those records is usually not free. At least not in Europe, not sure about the states.  However its really not expensive either, its common practice here for companies to do background checks on new employees and there are lots of web sites that offer these services.
624654
do a people search in yahoo, or google.
585569
City employees may discuss file contents only to process them and to place them in the right place and to track them.  None of the information can be shared outside of the work place.  Information is provided on a "Need to know basis" this is a "Legal" basis which does not violate privacy rights. If an employee is known to have shared private/sensitive information illegally, serious consequences are possible, including jail.
324746
Not really. All that you can do is ensure that there is nothing publicly available for your employer to discover. For example, be very aware that if you have a Blog, post on popular message boards, or have ever used the Usenet, that your employer can, and likely will read what you've posted there.\n\nAs someone who has hired others, you'd be surprised at what personal stuff people actually encourage you to look at. I had one person who sent in her "Gothic Fetish" website as an example for the position of writing for a children's magazine.\n\nNote that your private information is basically off limits to an employer, and that your employer can not choose not to hire you due to age, gender, race or religion.
396723
Wow.  So many highly opinionated answers, and so little information upon which to base them.\n\nFirst of all, perhaps it's just the way you wrote your question, but since you work on a different floor, how do *you* know ANY of this is true?\n\nSecond, what state/country are you in?  It might very well matter.\n\nA few other questions, if you're going to stand a chance of getting an intelligent answer that doesn't involve someone talking about the Patriot Act:\n\nYou said the Director of Nursing called the police.  Did they come?  What did they do?\n\nWho told the people on that floor they could not leave?  How was that enforced, if it was?\n\nWho ordered the strip search, and what do you mean by strip search?  It has a specific legal definition and you may not be talking about what's considered a strip search under the law.  Were people actually required to remove or arrange some or all of their clothing so as to permit a visual inspection of the underclothing, breasts, buttocks, or genitalia? (California's definition of a strip search)\n\nI'll talk about what I can talk about based on California law:\n\nAs for your question (can you be legally strip searched at your place of employment without a warrant?); it's almost not possible to answer you.  Strip searches in California do not require a warrant, but they are subject to a number of requirements, chief among them being that you are in custody.  I cannot imagine a situation where an entire floor of nurses (whether that be five or fifty) could have been arrested for this and therefore strip searched.\n\nI don't know...I could probably go on, but I think there's just not enough information to give you a decent answer.  Strip searching, detaining employees, urine testing and the like might not have been out of line depending on agreements with your employer and who conducted them (I can't imagine the police in the US would have done such a thing without an awful lot more info than this) and whether in fact they were even done (you did say you work on another floor, so I have to assume you got this info second hand and perhaps a little exaggerated).\n\nPost some more info, I'd love to know more about this.
429822
Yes.  "People Search"
42085
shell,\n\nI assume that you work at a medium to large company be it privately held or public.  Personnel information is often held at the highest level of security, though ANY information stored in a database that is accessed through a network of any kind is subject to being hacked...\n\nThere have been accounts of companies which have been found to store personnel records in less than secure methods, leaving them red-faced and subject to litigation...most will do anything to avoid such circumstances.  There have been occasions where unscrupulous HR employees of certain companies have sold private information illegally, but they usually do not get away with it for very long.
212824
Not sure what your question means, but...\n\nGenerally there is no punishment for individual officers conducting an illegal search.  However, under the 4th and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, any evidence arising from an illegal search cannot be used in court against the individual whose rights were violated (i.e. the person whose property was searched).  It is a fundamental principle in criminal law called the Exclusionary Rule.  It indirectly punishes and deters unreasonable searches.