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From: 0004330819@mcimail.com (Mike Miller)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Is Employer Monitoring of Operators Legal?
Message-ID: <16012@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 11 Jan 91 22:01:00 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 29, Message 3 of 10


I want to monitor the activity of my switchboard operators.  I plan to
notify them that I plan to randomly monitor the operator consoles to
assures quality assurance along with prompt and courteous service.
What I need to know is ... is this legal?  or is it considered
eavesdropping?  There is a jack at each operator console for
monitoring purposes, but I plan to monitor them from the switch room.
Any suggestions?  I want to add that I will NOT be doing this if it is
considered illegal.  But I would like a true answer, not an opinion.


[Moderator's Note: Apparently it is legal. All telcos monitor their
oeprators on duty. I do not believe it is illegal to monitor the
performance of employees whose duties include the use of the telephone
to serve customers by listening unannounced on the phone as they
speak. It may be essential however that you place a conspicuous notice
in the telephone room stating that "conversations between switchboard
operators and our customers may be subject to unannounced monitoring
for the purpose of training our operators and improving our service."
I think it would also be important that your wiring be installed so
that you were *only* able to monitor the operator's talk path -- that
is, the common circuit between the operator's headset and the line
terminations on each switchboard position. *Do not* monitor the
building house pairs or God forbid, telco's pairs coming into the
premises, etc. 

Once the operator opened a key on her position, you could hear her and
the caller she was working with. When she closed the key and dropped
out of the circuit, the connection would be private between the
calling and called parties once again, meaning you should pick it up
from the auxiliary jack on each position. Quite obviously if the
operator makes a personal phone call from her position you will
overhear it, but I assume that is what you want to do while protecting
the privacy of your users.  But I'd not do it without advising the
operators that you had the ability to do so and were so inclined. Of
course, that might end your problems right there.  PAT]