Legal Question in Technology Law in Mexico

E-mail accounts still active after employee is let go

What legal rights does an ex employee have when he learns that his email address at this former company is still active. That is, the ex employer is still receiving email and voice mail to his old accounts. This question was posed to me by a reader who lives in Mexico, but I would be curious about US laws on the topic too.


Asked on 5/28/09, 9:57 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Graves Coolidge & Graves PLLC

Re: E-mail accounts still active after employee is let go

The company/employer owns all data on its hardware, including e-mail archives. The employee has no rights at all in his e-mail identity. Ordinarily, as a courtesy, employers tend to keep old accounts active for a limited time in order to avoid rejecting business-related communications, and forward personal e-mails to the former employee. There would potentially be an issue if the employer used the former employee's e-mail to perpetuate a false impression that the employee remained with the company, but simply mining the incoming traffic is certainly within the employer's rights.

Best wishes,

LDWG

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Answered on 5/28/09, 10:08 am


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