George Davison Iowa Law

"Big Brother" In A Computer

A good friend of this Blog, Brett Trout, has provided information about what appears to me to be a very questionable situation in Pennsylvania.  A school district issues laptop computers to students.  The computers contain web cams.  The school district does not advise that the web cams can be activated remotely by school officials.  That occurs.  After a school official activates a web cam on a computer, the student is observed in the family home doing something to which school officials object.  The student is confronted by school officials about his conduct.

A lawsuit has been filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  The plaintiffs, Blake Robbins and his parents, seek a class certification to pursue a variety of claims against the school district.  Among the claims asserted are invasion of privacy, violation of civil rights, and violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution (which provides that the people are to be secure in their persons and property and government may search only upon a showing of probable cause.).

This situation raises some very serious Constitutional questions, including the right of the government to place electronic devices in private homes and to observe actions and activities that when they are behind the closed doors of the home are considered to be private and free from government interference.

MICROSOFT IOWA CASE

The Microsoft Iowa case settlement has been approved by Polk County District Court Judge Scott Rosenberg.  Judge Rosenberg entered the Order on Friday, August 31, 2007.  The settlement includes payment of what is described as the largest class action attorney fee in the state of Iowa.  The fee is reported to be 75 million dollars.  Lead attorney, Roxanne Conlin, has stated that the fee will be shared among 150 lawyers and others who worked on the case. 

To date, it appears that consumers who are eligible for payments under the settlement are slowly filing their claims.  Rush Nigut quotes an Associated Press story that 55,000 Iowans have filed claims.  Nigut observes, "It is likely that most of the claims are far below $200 but even if the 55,000 Iowans claimed an average of $200 that  means the total payout for the class members is approximately $11 million at this point. Probably not too surprising because I think most people have a hard time working up any outrage over Microsoft's actions."  Claims must be filed no later than December 14, 2007.

The Iowa Microsoft Settlement web site can be found at http://iowamicrosoftcase.com/.

DON'T COPY THE OTHER GUY'S CONTRACT OR EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK

A new posting by Rush Nigut adds to observations he posted on the perils of taking another person's employee handbook and using it as your own.  Rush links to comments from Brett Trout about going to the Internet, finding a contract, and using it as your own.  Trout's comments were originally posted at IowaBiz.  The bottom line is that it is dangerous to take an employee handbook or contract written for another party and use it as your own.  Another's employee handbook or contract may provide a valuable template and checklist, but your employee handbook or contract needs to be customized for your situation and needs.  Remember, if there are ambiguities or uncertainties in the contract. they will be interpreted against the author.