The National Labor Relations Board has upheld an employer's right to prohibit use of its email and other IT systems for nonbusiness purposes, according to The National Law Review.
In its decision, the board ruled that "employees have no statutory right to use employer equipment, including IT resources," for engaging in nonbusiness communications.
"Rather, employers have the right to control the use of their equipment, including their email and other IT systems, and they may lawfully exercise that right to restrict the uses to which those systems are put, provided that in doing so, they do not discriminate," against protected activities such as discussing wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment, the board said.
The American Hospital Association's AHA Today newsletter says the AHA and the Federation of American Hospitals had called on the board to consider hospital electronic communication systems as a virtual "patient care area."
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