Workplace privacy, an issue few seriously thought about even a decade ago, has become a conundrum for employers. The ubiquitous presence of mobile technology, the explosive evolution of social media coupled with shifting and seemingly contradictory attitudes towards privacy as well as an evolving legal landscape have left in-house counsel in a quandary. Even outside of work, questions linger around the scope of employee privacy and the extent to which employers can keep tabs on employees.

No wonder then when Borden Ladner Gervais LLP recently ran a seminar on workplace privacy in Toronto in the wake of a much publicized Supreme Court of Canada ruling that has divided privacy lawyers over its significance, the turnout out was nearly twice as much as expected.

“Privacy is on people’s minds,” says Robert Weir, an employment lawyer who led the seminar.  “People don’t understand it, don’t get it.”

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