Privacy in the Workplace

• Author: Barry A. Kuretzky and Monty Verlint
• Pages: 495-540



PrivacyintheWorkplace

BarryAKuretzkyandMontyVerlint*

A. INTRODUCTION

NewinformationtechnologyhasincreasinglybecomeapartoftheCan-

adian workplaceHowever with new technological advances includ-

ingtheInternet emailvideosur veillancebiometricsradiofrequency

identicationdevicesandglobalpositioningsystems issuesrelatingto

thecollection usea nddisc losureof private and personal information

becomemoreapparentEmployersarebecomingmoreconcernedabout

the amount and type of i nformation collected about their employees

and the increasing expe ctation of privacy in the workplaceI nforma-

tiontechnologyisnowawayoflifeformostpe opleandprivacyisnow

fundamentally important for every employeeThere has never been a

greaterneedtoaddresstheprivacyconcernsofemployeesandtogener-

ateacleardenitionofworkrelatedprivacy

Asar esu lt rec entd evelo pmen tsi nt hela wofp riva cyh aveb een num-

erousNotonlyhavetherebeenanumberofstatutorychangesinthelast

veyearstherehavealsobeen criticalcommonlawdevelopmentsThe

purposeofthispaperistoprovideacomprehensiveoverviewofprivacy

lawsimpacting theworkplacewith specic commentaryregarding the

 BarryKuretzkyisaseniorpar tneratthelawrmofKuretzkyVassosHenderson

LLPandMontyVerlintisanassoc iateofKuretzkyVassosHendersonLLPTheau-

thorswouldliketoth ankMsMarn ieBaizleyalawyeratKuretzkyVassosHender-

sonLLPforherkindassistanceinconduct ingsomeoftheres earchforthispape r

BAK MV

needfor clarication ina number ofareas Wewill focus ont hefollow-

ingprivacylawsimpacting theworkplaceincludingthecuingedge

technologicaldevelopmentswhichhaveaectedthisfascin atingsubject

 thecommonlawtortofinvasionofprivacyareviewofCanadian

caselaw

 privacylegislationinCan adaandcompliance

a PersonalInformationProtectionandElectronicDocumentsAct

b BritishColumbiaandAlbertaprivacylegislation

c Compliancewithprivacylegislation

d Ontarioprivacylegislation

 PIPEDA andelectronicsurveil lanceintheworkplace

a videosurveillance

b globalpositioningsystems

c biometrics

d radiofrequencyidenticationdevices

 employersurveillanceandthecommonlaw

 accesstopersonalinformationinthecontextofawrongfuldismissal

suitareviewofPIPE DAcasesummariesandandthesub-

sequentapplicationstotheFederalCourtofCanada

 conclusion





Thereis nolegislatedremedy ofprivacyin Ontariofor employeesgov-

ernedunderprovincialjurisdictionwhichareaordedtofederallyregu-

latede mployeesunder the PI PEDA  and to employeesunder Alber tas

Personal Information Protection ActBritish ColumbiasPersonal Informa-

tion Protection ActandQuebec sAct Respecting the Protection of Personal

Information in the Private Sector.AssuchmostemployeesinOntarioare

onlypotentia llyprotected undert hecommon lawInvasionof privacy

underthecommonlaw hasbeenrecog nizedin othercountries andthe

CanadiancourtshavelookedtoEnglishandAmericanjurisprudenceas

 SCcPIPEDA

 SAcPAlbertasPI PA

 SBCcBritishColumbiasPIPA

 RSQcP

Privacy in the Workplace

wellaslegalscholarsTraditionallyprivacyhasbeentiedtothecommon

lawnotionsofnuisanceortrespassUntilapproximatelythecourts

hadmadeno clearpronouncement onthe existence ofthe tortof inva-

sionofpr ivacybuttheykept thedoor openand commentedon the

necessityofthecommonlawtoevolveinthisdirectionstatingthatthey

wouldnotruleouttheexistenceofsuchanindependenttort

ThecaseofSomwar v. McDonalds Restaurants of Canada Ltd.hasbeen

oneofthemostrecentOntariodecisionswhichhasassertedtheexistence

ofsuchatortHoweverdespiteSomwarareviewofthecour tdecisions

belowrevealsth atthetort ofinvasion ofprivacyrema insindeci sivein

CanadaThereislileauthorityregardingthecontentorconstituentele-

mentsofsuchatortoranyguidelineswithrespecttowhattypeofdam-

agescouldbeawardedforabreachThisuncertaintywi llcontinueuntil

anappellatecourtandultim atelytheSupremeCourtofCanadaconsid-

ersthemaerAmyriadofquestionsacourtmayconsiderinthisregard

includethefollowing

 Isthetortofprivacyindependentofothercausesofactionorshould

itbe a subset ofa notherr ecognized tort such asnui sance ortres-

pas s

 Whataretheconstituentelementsofthetort

 Whatdamagescanbeclaimedbyaplainti

 Willthe tortbe simila rto statutory privacy legislationsuch as PI-

PEDA orsomethingcompletelydierent

 

Thefollowingsummar yofCanadianca selawsetsouthowthelawhas

beenevolving

 KrousevC hrysle rCanadaLtd .

JusticeHaineslethedooropentothepossibilityofacommonlawright

toprivacyhoweverhedeclinedtoruleont heissueHestatedCourts

dohavethe powerandmust exercisethe powerofadapting thecom-

monlawtothefactsofthedayHecontinued

wherethemakingofafundamentalpronouncementoflawisnotes-

sentialtotheresolutionofalawsuitth istypeofnecessar yandproper

 OJNoSCJSomwar

 ORHCJrevdonothergroundsORdCA

Krouse

 Ibid.atHCJ