Offensive spam gets through filter: Can company be sued for harassment?

February 4, 2009 by
Filed under: Communication, Employee computer use, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Security and law 

Companies have been sued for harassment because of employees who circulate offensive e-mails around the workplace. But what about unsolicited spam messages that come from outside the company?

The key to avoiding liability because of those dirty e-mails: showing the company makes a good-faith effort to keep employees’ inboxes clean.

Using up-to-date spam-blocking software should be enough to avoid legal issues, says HR consultant Hunter Lott.

However, those programs aren’t perfect — occasionally something will come through that an employee finds offensive. HR and IT are only responsible for responding to complaints and dealing with them the best they can.

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