AP
June 19, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO - An employer has no right to read an employee's text messages without the worker's permission - and service providers can't turn over the contents of the messages to an employer, even one who foots the bill, a federal court ruled yesterday.
The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel stemmed from a lawsuit by Ontario, Calif., police Sgt. Jeff Quon and three others against the city's service provider, the city and its Police Department for violating his constitutional right to be free of unreasonable searches.
