Privacy Issues in the Community College Workplace

3. C HECKLIST : G UIDELINES FOR C ONDUCTING S EARCHES

 Retain a key or combination for each locker, desk or vehicle on agency property and notify the employees of this fact. Make sure any lock on agency property is owned and supplied by the employer and forbid employees to use their own locks.  Provide formal notice to employees that lockers, desks and vehicles may be searched without employee consent or knowledge and that refusal to permit such searches may result in discipline.  Prepare a written policy concerning searches and have each employee sign a written acknowledgment stating that the employee has received and read the written search policy. Secure a valid search warrant prior to conducting a search at the request of the police

 Conduct searches in an evenhanded and nondiscriminatory manner.

 If possible, obtain consent of the employee before conducting the search.

B. S EARCHES OF E MPLOYEES AND E MPLOYEE P ROPERTY The searching of persons and property is normally a function of law enforcement. Employer searches are fraught with potential hazards that can ultimately result in sizeable damage awards in favor of employees. Even where an employer has reasonable suspicion or probable cause to believe that an employee may have an item or a substance prohibited by law or policy in his or her possession, or in his or her automobile, the employer should not search an employee or an employee’s personal possessions. Employers have several other options:

 Ask the employee to submit voluntarily to being searched or to have his or her possessions searched.  Call local law enforcement and allow them to search if they determine that it is appropriate.

 Prevent the employee from continuing to work and send the employee home.

 Prepare to institute disciplinary action against the employee.

Unless an item or a substance in violation of the established policy is in plain view of management personnel so it can be seized without a search, management personnel should consult with legal counsel and/or human resources professionals before conducting a search since managers/supervisors are generally not trained in how to pat search or fully search an individual. Improperly conducted searches can lead to altercations, ill will and lawsuits. Employers may, however, search areas where the public agency maintains full control or joint control with the employee. For instance, it would be permitted to search an agency vehicle that an employee operates during working hours but does not take home. Or, it would be permissible to search an employee’s locker where both the employer and employee have a key. In either situation (or in similar situations) public agencies are best protected if they include in their

Privacy Issues in the Community College Workplace ©2021 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 131