Privacy Issues in the Workplace

available for a California constitutional right to privacy claim. The district court for the Eastern District of California held that “in the absence of affirmative authority that clearly establishes a right to monetary damages under the California constitutional right to privacy, . . ., [it] declines to permit a cause of action for damages under the California Constitutional right to privacy.” 488 Richardson-Tunnell v. School Insurance Program for Employees (SIPE) 489 A public agency and its employees are immune from liability for conducting video surveillance as part of judicial and administrative proceedings, such as a worker’s compensation case. In Richardson-Tunnell v. School Insurance Program for Employees (SIPE), the Second District Court of Appeal held that a public entity is immune from liability for its covert videotaping of wedding and honeymoon of employee who was off work due to an alleged employment related injury. The employee injured her back at work and filed a worker’s compensation claim in June 2003. During her disability leave, she got married. The District and its workers’ compensation insurer hired an investigator to surreptitiously attend the employee’s wedding to videotape her. The investigator misrepresented himself as an invited guest and videotaped the employee at her wedding and during her honeymoon. The employee filed suit against the investigator, the District, and workers’ compensation insurer alleging, among other things, violations of her constitutional rights to privacy and of Civil Code section 1708.8. The Court of Appeal held that under Government Code section 821.6, public employees are granted immunity for instituting or prosecuting judicial or administrative proceeding within the scope of their employment, even if their conduct is malicious and without probable cause. The investigation was initiated during the worker’s compensation case and was therefore part of judicial and administrative proceedings subject to Section 821.6 immunity. Sanders v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. 490 In Sanders v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc ., the California Supreme Court upheld a damage award against ABC news after one of its reporters went undercover as an employee and videotaped private conversations between co- workers. The video was later shown on ABC and an employee sued. The Court held that the employee had an expectation that his comments would not be made public, even though the comments were made in a setting in which other employees could hear the comments.

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