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Employer required to disgorge employee's emails to her attorney
June 28, 2009 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
Marina Stengart sued her former employer for violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD). The trial court denied Stengart's motion for temporary restraints with respect to attorney-client privilege. The New Jersey Appellate Division reversed. Stengart v. Loving Care Agency (New Jersey App Div 06/26/2009)
The issue was whether the employer's workplace regulations converted an employee's emails with her attorney -- sent through the employee's personal, password-protected, web-based email account, but via her employer's computer -- into the employer's property.
The court rejected the employer's claimed right to the employee's emails to her attorney, finding the policies supporting the attorney-client privilege outweighed the employer's interest in enforcement of its workplace rule.
As the court put it, "we reject the employer's claimed right to rummage through and retain the employee's emails to her attorney."
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