When Does an Employer Violate an Employee's Fourth Amendment Rights? Case Law and Applications

Abstract

This article will attempt to provide answers about the extent of an employee’s 4th Amendment rights. The first section will provide an overview of the requirements of the 4th Amendment. The following sections will explore specific issues including urinalysis, the privacy of an employee’s desk, video surveillance, and lockers. Joe, a truck driver for Trucking Inc., arrives at work to begin his shift. Following normal protocol, he places his jacket and other personal belongings in his locker in the employees’ locker room in the Trucking Inc. terminal. Joe talks with the other employees in the locker room who are changing their clothes as their shift has ended. Unbeknownst to Joe and his fellow employees, Trucking Inc. is watching. Placed in the smoke alarm above their lockers is a minuscule video camera which records the employees’ every move. Has Joe’s 4th Amendment right to be secure in his person and free from unreasonable search and seizures been violated? It depends. THE FUNDAMENTAL CASE LAW The 4th Amendment to the United State Constitution provides: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.