Opus Group LLC

It usually takes a catastrophe to stir into action those in charge and responsible for public safety. So it is in the wake of the train collision between a Southern Pacific freight train and a Metrolink commuter train on September 12, 2008 in Chatsworth, California. Twenty five people were killed and over 100 seriously injured when the passenger car was crushed and thrown off the tracks during the early evening northbound. Among the dead-at-the-scene was the Metrolink engineer, 46-year old Robert Sanchez.

The investigation headed by the NTSB found evidence that Mr. Sanchez was “texting” – sending text messages – to two teenagers a very short time before the collision with the southbound freight train. The inference drawn from this fact alone is that Mr. Sanchez was paying attention to the keystrokes on his PDA instead of watching for the safety signals placed along the rails that would have alerted him that the Southern Pacific was heading toward it on the same single track.

The improper use of cell phones by Mayor Kwame Kilpartick and his Chief of Staff, Christine Beatty, issued by their employer, the City of Detroit, led to the downfall of both after a series of legal proceedings. Kilpatrick agreed to resign as Mayor of Detroit effective September 18, 2008, as part of a plea agreement on charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, and official misconduct, filed after hundreds of sexually explicit text messages, printed in local papers, proved that he had committed perjury when he testified in a civil trial that he had not had an affair with Beatty.

In a whistleblower suit Kilpatrick was (more…)

If an employer issues a cellular phone, iPhone, Blackberry or pager to an employee, does the employer have the right to search text messages sent to or from the device? According to a recent decision by a federal appeals court, the answer appears to be a qualified “yes” but only if the employer consistently follows a formal company policy that clearly authorizes such search. The case is of particular interest in that it highlights the pitfalls for employers that monitor such communications, but also suggests ways that employers can protect themselves from liability in such situations. (more…)

Employer-provided technology and equipment, voice mail, E-mail, and computers which are to be used for Employer’s business purposes only, and may not be used for personal matters. These systems are maintained by the Employer in order to facilitate Employer’s business. Therefore, all messages sent, received, composed and/or stored on these systems are the sole property of the Employer. (more…)