What are the privacy rights of employees?
Under Maryland law, job applicants and employees may not be required to submit to a lie detector test either to obtain a job or keep one. An employer may not require a job applicant to answer any questions pertaining to physical, psychological or psychiatric illness, disability, handicap or testament that does not directly affect the applicants ability to perform the job. Employers have a legitimate interest in monitoring employee performance in the workplace, especially their productivity, safety and efficiency. Recent advances in technology have resulted in employer using new methods of employee monitoring, including electronic monitoring of e-mail, telephone calls, and computer usage. The law does permit employers to conduct electronic surveillance, such as telephone monitoring, when it is done to serve legitimate business interest such as monitoring quality of customer service. The law allows employers to intercept and listen to only business-related calls. A personal call may not
