Here’s why lawyers say HR pros could be on the hook for employees’ online behavior.

In light of several state laws and court decisions, employers could have a duty to monitor Web use and tell police about employees who access child pornography, according to employment attorney Gina M. Smith.

So far, seven states have laws on the books requiring companies to report those crimes: Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota. Failure to do so can result in jail time for IT pros.

Also, in 2005, a company was sued for negligence by the mother of a child pornography victim.

The plaintiff’s husband was arrested after posting inappropriate pictures of his step-daughter online. Apparently, the company monitored his Internet access and saw child pornography sites listed, but never did anything about it. The woman claimed the conduct would have stopped much earlier if the company had stepped in.

A New Jersey court decided in her favor, ruling that a company on notice that a law is being broken on its equipment has a duty to investigate and inform police (Cite: Doe v. XYC Corp.).

To avoid liablity, Smith recommends telling all employees — especially IT staff — that they have an obligation to tell HR when they know a co-worker’s doing something wrong.

Tags: IT staff, pornography, reporting