John Hancock Life Insurance Company instructed its employees to create passwords to protect their e-mail accounts. Employees also were told to create personal folders for messages they send and receive. After a company investigation, Nancy and Joanne were terminated as John Hancock employees for using their e-mail accounts to send sexually explicit messages.
These employees sued John Hancock for wrongful discharge on the basis that the company’s investigation had violated their rights of privacy. Was John Hancock entitled to examine these employees’ e-mail accounts?