TBG Ins. Serv. Corp. v. Superior Court, 96 Cal. App. 4th 443 (2002)
The employer in this case had provided its employee, Robert Zieminski, with two computers – one for the office and the other to permit Zieminski to work at home. The employee had signed the company’s “electronic and telephone equipment policy,” which, among other things, notified Zieminski that the company-provided computers could be monitored by TBG. Zieminski’s employment was terminated as a result of his repeatedly accessing pornographic websites on the Internet while at work. During the course of Zieminski’s wrongful termination lawsuit against TBG, the company demanded that he turn over the home computer for inspection by the company’s lawyers. Zieminski refused to produce the computer, claiming an invasion of his constitutional right to privacy. The trial court denied the employer’s motion to compel production of the home computer. The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that Zieminski fully and voluntarily relinquished whatever privacy rights he had in the information stored on the home computer when he signed the agreement consenting to TBG’s monitoring his use of company computers.
