New Zealand Court Orders Facebook Disclosure To Employer

An anonymous reader writes with a story out of New Zealand: "Gina Kensington was sacked by Air New Zealand earlier this year following a dispute over sick leave she took to care for her sister. She said she did not misuse sick leave, and went to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) seeking reinstatement. Air New Zealand responded by demanding to see her Facebook and bank details. Kensington refused, saying it did not have that information when it dismissed her and that 'it is well accepted in New Zealand there are general and legal privacy expectations about people's personal and financial information.'" At least in the U.S., Facebook isn't keen on employers getting access to employees' Facebook account details.

Comments

Re:Guilty Until Proven Innocent.

[foniksonik]

So you would be perfectly okay with a coworker taking off at a critical time and without notice on sick leave - forcing you and those around you to pick up the slack while actually going on a trip somewhere to play at the beach?

What if you found out about this but had no proof? What if you had proof but were not legally allowed to reveal it?

What if this happened several times? Always the same MO - at the worst possible time when all hands were needed? Again, no usable proof - except that you could see the proof right there on Facebook, taunting you.

Re:What if?

[ae1294]

Holding yourself to a high standard of professionalism will work out better in the long run than putting "staying employed" ahead of everything else in your life. It may cost you in the immediate short-term, but the total returns over time far outweigh the immediate costs.

Possibly. Or it could end up triggering a vicious circle of permanent unemployability, driving you to a personal bankruptcy, followed by spending the rest of your life on the street as a hobo. In which case you won't be posting about it on Slashdot, resulting in a confirmation bias.

"High standards" are for people who can afford them: the people who don't have to work for a living.

Yeah let me guess your not like those pathetic types.. No you're special, you are the only reason your employer remains in business and he knows it... I bet you take year long sabbaticals to Tibet to shop for rugs and other nick-naks.... you're one smug son-of-a-bitch aren't you?

Re:Anything you say online...

[XcepticZP]

So she goes whining to daddy government. Seriously, she would be better off spending her free time looking for a new job. At a place that accepts and actively needs/wants her. She was apparently NOT welcome or wanted at the place she's trying to get back in to. So it sounds like there is more to the story than what we're told. Perhaps she had a cushy job doing nothing, and getting paid a very good amount? People will fight to keep that. But companies will fight against it, because it's wastage.