Public employees have no privacy rights in text messages sent on mobile phones or communcation devices issued them by their employer, the Supreme Court ruled last week in City of Ontario v. Quon, No 08-1332 (June 17, 2010). The Court ruled that public employers may search and review their employees' text messages and other communications on employer-issued equipment if they have reasonable cause to believe that work rules are being violated by the employee. There is an excellent discussion of the decision and its impact by David G. Savage in the Chicago Tribune, "Supreme Court Rules for Employer In Text-Messaging Case."
