Is It Legal For One to Look at someones Criminal Record (civilian) and mail findings in blanket email at work?
A friend at work had some negative info on his "criminal record" that is available to the public. Another co-worker found this information and attached his findings to an email and sent it out as a blanket email to all of the other co-workers. Is this legal since it was a public record? or is it illegal?
Answers:
It is legal to send Email to other co-workers, however it could be damaging if the 'crininal record' was not real, or incorrect information, so the person sending the Email is completely liable for the accuracy of the content.
The company may fire the Email sender for using company Email and Internet usage inappropriately (inappropriate as determined by the rules of company policy).
Some criminal records are only obtainable by the public if it is not shared with others, and the public records would state that. For instance, a child molester registers with a state, and the public may easily view this information online, however is not permitted to share that information with others. For a neighbor to view the information, the neighbor would also have to check it out on the computer as well.
It's legal as long as it's accurate and not embellished. Maybe a violation of privacy, and/or company policy.
Yeah, perfectly legal according to our justice system. However, company email is the sole property of the company and subject to review by and regulations of the company. It is also in bad taste!
You're being deliberately vague, so I have to wonder what's really going on here.
1. Criminal records are not generally public records. So I would have to know how the record was obtained, its form, and the precise way it was used. In most states, the person who sent the email would have committed a crime, but without more facts it's impossible to tell for sure.
2. Regardless of any other fact in this matter, I would terminate the person who sent the email. I would exclude him or her from the office, pack their things and send them to him or her. Any inquiries as to the reason would be met with the response that the person was terminated for misuse of the company email system. If there is a criminal in the office, one goes to management and, if the issue is not resolved, one quits and sues for constructive termination.
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