Fraud Law And Risk Management Alert – October 2012

LOW IMPACT
No practical action necessary

POTENTIALLY MATERIAL IMPACT
Some action necessary

SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
Immediate action necessary

In its decision released on October 19, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada has held that while an employer's ownership of a laptop, its workplace policies and practices, and technology in place can diminish an employee's reasonable expectation of privacy, they do not eliminate it: R v Cole, 2012 SCC 53

REASONABLE – BUT DIMINISHED – EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY ABOUT CONTENTS OF EMPLOYER OWNED LAPTOP

Justice Fish, writing for the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada, has held that while an employer's ownership of a laptop, its workplace policies and practices, and technology in place can diminish an employee's reasonable expectation of privacy, they do not eliminate it: R v Cole, 2012 SCC 53. There is no definitive list of factors to determine the extent of an employee's reasonable expectation that the contents of