Issue 7

Dear Committee Members, 

We are glad to present you with the 7th issue of the International Employment Lawyer.

Relevant events such as the coming into force of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Enron and Siemens cases have raised the interest and the need for internal investigations at the workplace all around the world.

For this reason, we chose the “internal investigations” as the focus for this issue of the newsletter with a great enthusiasm from our contributors.

The Committee has planned several interesting programs for the ABA International 2007 Fall Meeting London this October and we look forward to seeing many of you there. (for additional information, please visit http://www.abanet.org/intlaw/fall07/).

Best Regards, 

Anders Etgen Reitz
Editor-in-Chief

Argentina

Internal Investigations 

by Javier E. Patrón
Marval, O’ Farrell & Mairal

When a company decides to implement an internal investigation policy, the first action to be executed is to inform the employees of the new policy, and to notify its content in writing. 

The Argentinean Labour Contract Law (“LCL”) does not provide a specific procedure for internal investigations. The length of an investigation shall be reasonable, considering its importance and the facts and events investigated. Nevertheless, investigations should be as expedite as possible, bearing in mind that disciplinary actions may result from the aforesaid investigations, and these types of sanctions should be imposed as soon as possible after any fault is discovered.

The policy does not need to be registered with any public official or authority. However, regarding personal controls and searches, the LCL states that the systems by which such controls are performed must be informed to the relevant administrative authority and shall never affect the dignity of the worker.

The employer is entitled to search and monitor its own property. There is no unanimous interpretation of whether e-mail accounts and computers given to employees are considered as private correspondence or not. The right to secret correspondence is guaranteed by our Constitution and a violation thereof entails both criminal and civil liability. Consequently, monitoring of any employees’ communications must be performed under a strict confidentiality basis by the persons involved in the internal investigations. Furthermore, an internal policy authorizing the employer to perform such monitoring regularly or under an investigation is recommendable.

In order for any findings to be enforceable in a hypothetical subsequent claim, all witness declarations and any other evidence should be notarized and duly recorded.

In conclusion, internal investigations are not specifically legislated in Argentinean law, though it is important to mention that any procedure must be executed having in consideration that any kind of discrimination or adverse effect on the employees’ dignity or right of defence could be objected. 

Chile

Internal Investigations at the Workplace 

by Paulina Miranda
Carey y Cía. Ltda.

In general terms, it is highly doubtful that employers in Chile can legally conduct internal investigations at the workplaces.

In Chile there is no general legal regulation on the internal investigations that may be conducted by the employer at the workplace. We found few exceptions where an employer is authorized by law to carry out an investigation.

One case is in the event of a work accident occurred in the facilities. In this case, the employer may begin an investigation in order to determine the causes of the work accident, but such investigation should not interfere with the investigation carried out by the Safety Committee.

Another situation where the employer is allowed to investigate is in cases of sexual harassment. Where there has been an accusation of sexual harassment, the employer has two alternatives: either it conducts an internal investigation, or the case is remitted to the Labour Authority who will then investigate. If the employer chooses to investigate, it shall follow a certain procedure described in the Internal Regulations of the company following the guidelines set by the law for these cases.

In our opinion it is doubtful that the employer may legally conduct internal investigations for clarifying other situations. Although the employer has the legal right to manage and organize its business, such right is limited by the employer’s obligation to respect the constitutional rights of the employees, particularly if the intimacy, private life and honour of the employees may be affected. On the other hand, the Labour Board has ruled that any control or surveillance carried out by the employer should not have a pre-police or investigatory intent, but only preventive and impersonal.

Since investigations are conducted with the objective to clarify specific situations, in our opinion an internal investigation carried out by the employer may be construed as a violation of the constitutional rights of the employees.

Brazil

Internal Investigations 

by Isabel Franco
Demarest e Almeida Advogados

In Brazil, the question on whether or not the investigation of an employee by the employer is legal, as well as the restrictions on such investigation, have been discussed for many years. Although there are no specific rules on this matter, the employee is protected by the human and social rights established in the Federal Constitution and the Brazilian Labor Code (Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho – CLT). The investigation usually covers personal searches, e-mail verification and behavior analysis. 

The Brazilian Labor Courts acknowledge that searches of personal effects may be made by another employee of the same gender and in all events with due regard to the privacy, in the case of justifiable and reasonable suspicion.

The employee's internal e-mail is considered a work tool and may be accessed by the employer. The e-mail account cannot be used for illegal purposes, and personal use is allowed provided that it is not excessive and does not overload the employer's servers.

Where a suspicion leads to employment termination for cause, the employer may place the employee on paid leave while the investigation is carried out and, if the suspicion is confirmed, the employee should be immediately terminated. Otherwise the termination may be regarded as abusive.

The Brazilian law also provides for some events of job tenure, in which the employee may be terminated for cause only. The employer is allowed to terminate an employee during the period he holds the position of Union's Principal only if it files a lawsuit for investigation purposes and proves in court that the employee is being terminated for cause.

An employee terminated without proper investigation may file a labor claim seeking that the termination for cause be converted into termination without cause (which will entail the usual legal unemployment compensations to the employee, not to mention compensation for pain and suffering, even if based on discriminatory grounds). These claims to the Labor Court have become increasingly common.

Czech Republic

Protection of an employee's privacy under the new Labour Code 

by Alena Brichackova
Peterka & Partners

Czech industrial regulations valid until December 31, 2006 did not deal with the protection of an employee's privacy (namely the protection of personal rights). The Labour Code which took effect on January 1, 2007 regulates this area in s.316.

This regulation, however, arises from the protection of the proprietary interests of employers. The Act stipulates that without their employer’s consent, employees may not use for their personal needs the employer’s production equipment and other means necessary for doing work, including computers and telecommunication equipment (telephone, fax, e-mail). The employer is authorized to inspect compliance with this prohibition in an appropriate way.

The employer, however, may not inspect compliance with this prohibition in a manner which would encroach upon the employee’s privacy, e.g. by open or concealed surveillance of employees, intercepting and recording their telephone calls, checking their electronic mail or postal consignments addressed to a certain employee.

An employer may monitor an employee using the above mentioned methods only if serious grounds exist based on the special nature of the employer’s activity. Serious grounds include protection of classified information or trade secrets and the duty of non-disclosure, etc.

Where there is a serious ground which justifies the introduction of surveillance, an employer must directly inform employees of the scope and methods of its implementation.

The terms “adequate surveillance” and the “existence of serious grounds based on the special nature of the employer’s activity” will need to be clarified by the courts. For the time being it is generally accepted that an employer is entitled to inspect the hard disk of a PC entrusted to an employee, an employee’s computer activity, the time spent on internet surfing and the sites inspected and the number of incoming and outgoing telephone calls and faxes.

Opinions on inspecting a professional e-mail inbox differ. An employee may under no circumstances inspect the contents of an employee’s private e-mail correspondence in their private e-mail inbox. 

France

Internal investigations in the workplace 

by Philippe Desprès
Gide Loyrette Nouel

Under French labor law, any employer or supervisor has the right to directly monitor the employees. However, an employer who intends to set up an elaborate supervision device (such as telephone tapping, video surveillance, clock-in and clock-out or computer monitoring) in order to identify and prevent wrongful or illegal activities within the company must comply with the following requirements:

prior information and consultation of the works council;
in case of personal data recording, a prior declaration to the French Data Protection Agency (CNIL);
reliability of the device (i.e. it must be guaranteed that the employer cannot act on the device so as to make up some evidence against an employee);
balance/compliance with employee privacy rights in the workplace (e.g., personal electronic files and personal e-mails cannot be opened by the employer); and
a prior information of each employee.

Should the company fail to comply with any of these requirements, it could not use any evidence obtained through such device against an employee in court.

The surveillance of a specific employee can also be implemented when the employer has legitimate reasons to suspect a wrongdoing or illegal activity on the part of the employee. For instance, in a recent case dated May 23, 2007, an employer, who suspected that his employee had been exchanging personal e-mails with two identified individuals outside the company with the purpose of setting up a competing company, was granted an authorization from the relevant judge to have, in the employee's presence, a bailiff check and record the content of these personal e-mails. The Supreme Court ruled that the minutes of the bailiff's findings were admissible evidence on the grounds that "the employer had legitimate reasons to suspect wrongful competition and the bailiff carried out his inquiry in the presence of the employee". As this type of procedure does not include any debate with the employee before the judge, it has the advantage for the employer of taking the employee by surprise on his or her workplace and avoiding disappearance of the suspected evidence against the employee before the inquiry.

However, the following steps must be followed in order for this procedure to be lawful:
the relevant judge must grant an authorization, which supposes that the employer established (i) his legitimate interest in initiating the procedure (e.g. he can reasonably suspect the employee's wrongdoing or illegal activity) and (ii) that the requested inquiry by the bailiff is proportionate and necessary to the protection of the employer's rights (e.g. the procedure will provide useful evidence to the employer without excessive invasion of the employee's privacy);
except in cases of absolute emergency, the employee must be at work during the bailiff's inquiry. 

Germany

Internal investigations at the workplace – Legal framework under German Labour and Employment Law

by Thomas Müller-Bonanni and Jan Schell
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

When conducting internal investigations at the workplace, German employers must observe privacy laws, co-determination laws of the works council and statutory deadlines. Following the right process is crucial for the success of investigation measures. 

What employers may and may not screen: 
Investigations normally begin with a comprehensive review of files, records and other documents. This is legally not an issue as long as such files, records and other documents are solely business related. However, because of the employee’s privacy rights, a review of private correspondence normally requires the employee’s prior consent. Evidence that the employer has gathered in violation of the employee’s privacy rights may be disregarded by the courts. This may, for example, turn out to be an obstacle to a comprehensive review of e-mail correspondence where the employer permits the use of the company’s e-mail system for private purposes. It is therefore advisable to provide in the company’s e-mail policy that, by using the company system for private purposes, the employees consent to a review of their correspondence in connection with internal investigations. In absence of the employee’s consent, a review of private correspondence may be lawful where there is evidence of criminal behaviour.

Where the works council will have to be involved: 

Where a works council has been established, the council may have to be informed and consulted about the investigation measures. This is because the works council has the right and the obligation to supervise that the employer does not infringe the employee’s rights. Specific measures may even require the works council's consent. For example, a screening of e-mails by electronic means (searching the data base for key words) requires works council consent, unless there is an agreement with the works council in place permitting the screening. Precautionary measures such as a careful drafting of policies and works council agreements may turn out to be crucial in investigation scenarios. Non-observance of the works council’s rights may not only make the evidence impermissible but may also be sanctioned as a public offence.

What deadlines employers must bear in mind: 

The outcome of an investigation may justify disciplinary measures including the employee’s termination. In this context it is essential to comply with the relevant deadlines. For example, summary dismissal can only be issued within two weeks after the employer has learned of facts on which it wants to ground the employee’s termination. This deadline does not run as long as the employer is investigating the allegations, but German courts have repeatedly held that the employer must conduct the investigation as quickly as possible. Unnecessary delays in the investigation or superfluous double-checking may therefore make the employee’s termination void. Also, where a works council exists, the employer needs to spare time for the necessary involvement of the council within the two-week deadline. In addition, the employee may have to be heard prior to the disciplinary measures (e.g. warning, dismissal etc.). A dismissal based on the mere suspicion of serious misconduct (e.g. a criminal offence) is generally illegal without a prior hearing of the employee.