She went into my employee file! Unauthorized!

[dpuso12]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Louisiana

Hello,
I work in a dental lab for 8 months now and one of the girls I work with went through the employee files to see how much I am making. She was irate that I made more than her. The boss was told she went through the employee files. I was never told that my information was compromised. By a few things she said when she lashed out at me that day I figured out she knows how much I make. The only 2 people that knew was my boss and my daughter who is the office manager. I went to him and said I think she knows how much I make and I know my daughter didn't say anything and I believe he wouldn't either. He proceeded to tell me that she went through the employee files and he spoke to her and warned her she is lucky she still has a job. He asked me what i think should have been done and I told him that my opinion when I worked as a supervisor, anyone that compromised that kind of information would have been terminated on the spot because that is a violation of the privacy act. Everyone knew before me that she went through the files to see what I am making and they all know now my hourly wage. Life has become simply unbearable at my workplace. I am prior military and this is a career change for me at the age of 45. I have never experienced this type of treatment or worked for a small business. What rights do I have? If I leave my job for this reason would I be exempt from filing for unemployment till I find another job? Do I have any recourse? (please let me know what forum this belongs in if i am in the wrong one)

Please help
Dpuso12

[Antigone*of*Greece]

Originally Posted by dpuso12

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Louisiana

Hello,
I work in a dental lab for 8 months now and one of the girls I work with went through the employee files to see how much I am making. She was irate that I made more than her. The boss was told she went through the employee files. I was never told that my information was compromised. By a few things she said when she lashed out at me that day I figured out she knows how much I make. The only 2 people that knew was my boss and my daughter who is the office manager. I went to him and said I think she knows how much I make and I know my daughter didn't say anything and I believe he wouldn't either. He proceeded to tell me that she went through the employee files and he spoke to her and warned her she is lucky she still has a job. He asked me what i think should have been done and I told him that my opinion when I worked as a supervisor, anyone that compromised that kind of information would have been terminated on the spot because that is a violation of the privacy act. Everyone knew before me that she went through the files to see what I am making and they all know now my hourly wage. Life has become simply unbearable at my workplace. I am prior military and this is a career change for me at the age of 45. I have never experienced this type of treatment or worked for a small business. What rights do I have? If I leave my job for this reason would I be exempt from filing for unemployment till I find another job? Do I have any recourse? (please let me know what forum this belongs in if i am in the wrong one)

Please help
Dpuso12

You are acting as if this person had any bearing on your performance. If you are not her direct report then it should not matter what she knows or doesn't know. Do your job and be cordial with everyone at work ~ she is the bitter one with the problem. It may be difficult at first but if you pretend like nothing has happened, and you don't treat her any differently than anyone else, then she will be the one that looks like an idiot.

If the doctor refused to let her go, then I suggest the above.

[dpuso12]

My job performance is wonderful. That is not my problem. Because of her indiscretion and as nice as I am by not patronizing her attitude or anyone elses, it has become increasingly difficult to get my job done. They do things like stand where I can't use something, make indirect comments about things that pertain to me ect.... too much to go on with. I put that stuff aside and do my job, no problem. I am mature about it. What are my legal rights in this situation when the job I have for 8 months becomes so unbearable I can't get my job done in a timely manner because she violated my privacy and shared the info and created a hostile enviroment for me? I was on unemployment for a few weeks prior to this job after being let go from a 10yr job. I can reopen the claim, BUT.... am I abandoning my job here if I leave for these reasons? or.... is it reasonable to throw may hands up and say... this isn't worth the aggravation because my workplace became a hostile enviroment after she did something ILLEGAL? I suppose the moral thing is to fire someone that is dishonest enough to rumage through employee files, but he chose to keep her and smack her hand. Isn't he responsible for safeguarding my SSN and bank account (direct deposit) info? Sounds like alot of questions BUT what are my rights here?

dpuso12

[mlane58]

First, if you leave employment without good cause, you will be ineligable for benefits. Second, nothing you describe is a hostile work environment, to meet that definition, the employee must be able to show that s/he is being subjected to either sexual harassment or illegal discrimination under Title VII (race, religion, national origin, age etc.). It has nothing to do with the atmosphere of your workplace, no matter how unpleasant it may be. Nothing illegal has transpired to include this co-worker going into your employment file unauthorized.

[pattytx]

Agree. This is NOT the military and it is not run like the military. Time to get that through your head.

[cbg]

Likewise, in employment law the term, hostile work environment, has a very specific meaning and this isn't even CLOSE to meeting the definition.

Likewise, there is no "privacy act" that has been violated here.

It shouldn't have happened but there have been no illegalities.

Your options are to suck it up and keep working, or quit (withOUT unemployment) and find another job.

[commentator]

It is not against any law except perhaps a company policy to discuss salaries, or look at salary information, especially if the person has bookkeeping responsibilities and has access to the system that has your payroll information on file. They do not have to fire an employee who accesses such information, there is no law anywhere that says anything like this that all businesses are subject to.

That said, the reasons you are giving for wanting to quit are not going to get you unemployment insurance reinstatement. Because now, even though you have a prior claim established, there would be a new "reason for leaving job" and the job you have now would be considered your last job. And if you voluntarily quit, you must prove you had a good job related reason to quit. And honestly, having had someone find out how much you are paid, and your co-workers treating you badly (in your opinion) do not rise to that level at all.

The military is very structured. It appeals to people who love the rules. There are very strict policies. The private industry world is quite different. But it is time for you to forget the injury you have suffered in terms of this person giving you grief about your salary, and the fact that they now know what you make.

[dpuso12]

Thank you everyone. I have been retired from the military better than 10yrs. I know the civilian world is not run as structured but I did think that according to the privacy act he is liable for keeping my info secured (like SSN). I don't WANT to quit and I don't WANT to be on unemployment. I was only on it for a few weeks out of the 4 months it took me to get a job. This totally got misconstrued along the line. There was an ammendment to the privacy act to include small businesses and I thought this would be covered and wanted to know what I can do about it. The co-worker went through the employee files JUST to see what my salary is. I feel violated and worried about the fact she had accees to my info.

[pattytx]

What "Privacy Act"? Suppose you cite that and explain how it applies in the employment arena.

[>Charlotte<]

Privacy Act 5 U.S.C. § 552a, Public Law No. 93-579 (1974)
Establishes a code of fair information practice that governs the collection,
maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information
about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies.

Or she might be confused about HIPAA.

[cbg]

You're not a Federal employee any more - the privacy act does not apply.

There IS no "privacy act" related to private employment.