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Employers Have Duty To Investigate Worker's Online Pornography Viewing (pdf).
In a decision that imposes broad obligations on employers, the New Jersey Appellate
Division ruled last week that a company could be held liable for damages suffered by a
victim of child pornography where it failed to investigate reports that an employee was
viewing child pornography online while at work. The court held that an "employer who is on
notice that one of its employees is using a workplace computer to access pornography,
possibly child pornography, has a duty to investigate the employee's activities and to take
prompt and effective action to stop the unauthorized activity." Finding that employees do
not have privacy interests that would prohibit inspection of their workplace computers, the
court held that an employer that fails to investigate information that an employee is viewing
child pornography on the Internet while at work may be liable to a person subsequently
victimized by the employee.
