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Employment Law Update: Protecting Company-Issued Electronic Devices

We’ve seen it happen: an acrimonious termination results in a terminated employee refusing to return a company-issued laptop computer or other electronic device, claiming it contains personal information. In a recent Maryland criminal law case, State v. McConnell (July 17, 2023), the Maryland Supreme Court gave strong ear to an employee’s claim of privacy entitlement to information stored on a provided laptop, stating that computers “can reveal the sum of an individual’s private life.”  

For private employers in Maryland, the writing is on the wall that the Maryland Supreme Court may be reluctant to permit employer access to all personal content on a company issued device. For that reason, employers are well advised to have an express and signed policy that states: (1) the device is for business-related information only, (2) the device shall not have personal content stored on it, (3) an express provision that employees shall have no privacy right to any content stored on any of the employer’s electronic systems or any issued device, and (4) a prohibition against scrubbing any information.

A complete policy, as Whiteford can provide, should also clarify the absolute right to post-employment recovery, as well as the process and sanctions for failure to timely return electronic equipment.

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The information contained here is not intended to provide legal advice or opinion and should not be acted upon without consulting an attorney. Counsel should not be selected based on advertising materials, and we recommend that you conduct further investigation when seeking legal representation.