Legal Question in Criminal Law in Tennessee

Consequences of sharing personal info

About a year ago I worked on a computer system for a midsized company. I know it wasn't right but when asked to look up certain co-workers salaries I did. The co-worker that asked me to do it is now being investigated by the company. She no longer works there either. They thought she might have walked out with important info. In investigating her email they found notes where she shared the salary info with other coworkers and named me as the guy who got it for her. The internal investigators(not cops, just guys that work for the company) are interested in me because of the access I had to the data. Also, previous coworkers have informed them of my past as a hacker. I used to share stories on the job but have left that stuff alone for years. The investigators feel I may in with this woman.

I guess my question is can the company get police to come to my house and seize my computer for investigation? I have nothing incriminating on my machine, so I'm not worried. However, I don't want these guys messing with my stuff and I don't want to fork out money for lawyers.


Asked on 2/02/01, 7:53 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Rosella Shackelford Shackelford Legal Service

Re: Consequences of sharing personal info

Right now, if I understand your statement of the facts correctly, this matter has not been turned over to the police, or the prosecutor. Therefore, it is a civil matter and no search warrant can issue for a civil case. HOWEVER, you have probably violated a number of company personnel policies, and you might want to get your resume together and start looking elsewhere. Even if there is nothing conclusive found against you, you breached the security system, violated the company's trust, and disseminated information improperly. Odds are, they will never place any issue of sensitivity in your hands again.

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Answered on 3/19/01, 3:02 pm


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