Location Transport

Is what this company is doing legal?

A person works for a privately owned ATT Wireless company. That means it's not corporately owned, it's an authorized retailer. The company has cameras in each of their stores and are watching a store randomly and they see an employee who is not busy and is text messaging. Obviously, they can ask her to stop and blah blah blah she should be working. What they did that I question is LOGGED into her personal account (this isn't even an agent line) and looked up who she was text messaging (while in a remote location and of course, without her permission or knowledge). As employees, we can't pull up a customer's account without their permission, how can they be allowed to pull hers up? That has to be illegal, that is my main question...is that illegal? Another thing they did that I don't believe they can do was they told her that she can't bring her cell phone IN THE BUILDING anymore when all other employees are encouraged to use their phones (if they're ATT, which hers is) to demonstrate to customers. How can they tell ONLY HER that she's not allowed to bring in anywhere on their property? Thanks for the answers!

Public Comments

1. a company has the right about the only being allowed att phones.that is like when working at a retail store and they only want you to wear their brand and not a company that is a rivals brand.on the other point about viewing personal account and logging in i would see if there is fine print on the company application
2. Yes it is legal. If they are paying her a salary, they can do whatever they want to ensure that they are doing what they are paid for. If they are no longer on the employer's hours, then you can do whatever you want during the work time. Also, if you're on lunch or a coffee break, they cannot comment on what you're doing either.
3. i think it is illegal because there are company policies and that she could sue for discrimination and invasion of privacy...
4. Under the Civil Rights Act of 1991 this is completely illegal. The company cannot tell the employee that she cannot bring her cell phone to work when everyone else that works there can. This is an act of DISCRIMINATION. The employer needs to read up on the employment laws. Obviously he/she either has not bothered to keep up on latest management practices or needs to be completely re-trained.
5. It is perfectly legal for an employer to discriminate as long as it's not against a protected class (race, religion, etc). When you are on the employer's dime, they can record and review anything you do. You have no expectation of privacy. It is obvious that the employer told her to not bring her phone into the store because she misused it and got caught. They could have just fired her.
6. Has to be illegal, they are abusing their privileges