California nixes requiring notification of e-monitoring.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill passed by the state legislature that would have required employers to notify workers in writing if they were monitoring employees' Internet and e-mail activities.

The legislation would have mandated that employers in the state provide a one-time written notice to employees that electronic devices might be used to read workers' e-mail messages or track their Internet usage. Supporters of the bill, which was modeled on a similar state requirement that employers notify workers if they intend to monitor telephone usage, said the legislation would make California a leader in the fight to protect workplace privacy.

Opponents of the legislation countered that the notification requirement was burdensome to administer and unnecessary because employees typically assume their Internet and e-mail activities are being monitored. Business groups fought the measure because failure to notify employees would be considered a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and six months imprisonment.

E-mail privacy legislation passed the California House and Senate in 1999, 2000, and 2001, but was vetoed each time by then-Gov. Gray Davis. A recent survey by Forrester Consulting found that 48 percent of large U.S. companies regularly read their employees' outgoing e-mail messages.