E-mail is undoubtedly one of the greatest communication tools we have today. Employees, vendors, customers, executives, and other corporate users have all benefited from the advancements made to e-mail over the years. However, e-mail has also created many problems for IT professionals with the spread of viruses, Spam, and worms. In addition, e-mail has spawned many lawsuits from users offended by the mail received in their corporate inbox. While the law on Internet e-mail is still vague, the courts are clear about one thing— employers that have an E-mail Usage Policy read and signed by employees can protect themselves from many claims | ase Document Build Your Own E-mail Usage POlicy TechRepublic3 gj Real World. Real Time. Real IT 1995-2005 CNET Networks Inc. All rights reserved. TechRepublic and its logo are trademarks of CNET Networks Inc. Reproduction of this publication in any form is prohibited. 1 Build Your Own e-mail Usage Policy Why an E-mail Usage Policy is important E-mail is undoubtedly one of the greatest communication tools we have today. Employees vendors customers executives and other corporate users have all benefited from the advancements made to e-mail over the years. However e-mail has also created many problems for IT professionals with the spread of viruses Spam and worms. In addition e-mail has spawned many lawsuits from users offended by the mail received in their corporate inbox. While the law on Internet e-mail is still vague the courts are clear about one thing employers that have an E-mail Usage Policy read and signed by employees can protect themselves from many claims. Typically a company should develop an E-mail usage policy that is consistent with other communication media such as fax or letter mail. While e-mail requires less effort to distribute than these more formal means of communication the company s name still goes out on the header of the message. This company stationery makes it the responsibility of the company to ensure the intended recipients of employee s e-mail are not offended or damaged by the content. In addition an effective E-mail Usage Policy can help you maintain the integrity of your system against viruses and prevent lawsuits from violations of intellectual property anti-spam laws sexual harassment wrongful termination and more. A final area of concern is employee privacy. Many employees that have been dismissed for sending inappropriate e-mails have brought litigation claims against former employers for invasion of their privacy. A clearly defined E-mail Usage Policy can mitigate the risk of liability. If employees have been properly trained
