DATA PROTECTION
Supreme Court of Cassation: order 807/2025 specifies that defensive checks on the worker's email cannot be retroactive to the onset of the suspicion of wrongdoing.
The Court of Cassation, with order no. 807/2025, provided relevant indications regarding the defensive controls and the limits of such checks that employers can carry out on their employees' company emails in the event of a suspicion of wrongdoing.
The decision establishes that these checks cannot be retroactive, i.e. they cannot concern communications prior to the emergence of the well-founded suspicion of wrongdoing that enables defensive control.
The possibility for employers to monitor workers' e-mail communications for defensive control purposes has generated numerous legal discussions, leading the Supreme Court to define more precisely the limits within which such controls can take place.
With its recent order, the Supreme Court clarified that defensive checks by the company are legitimate only if conducted on data collected after the emergence of concrete suspicions.
One of the fundamental aspects sanctioned by the Supreme Court is the impossibility of examining the emails sent or received before the doubt arises about a possible irregularity. This limitation is necessary to ensure a balance between the protection of corporate interests and the right to privacy of workers, both of which are protected by current regulations.
The decision establishes that these checks cannot be retroactive, i.e. they cannot concern communications prior to the emergence of the well-founded suspicion of wrongdoing that enables defensive control.
The possibility for employers to monitor workers' e-mail communications for defensive control purposes has generated numerous legal discussions, leading the Supreme Court to define more precisely the limits within which such controls can take place.
With its recent order, the Supreme Court clarified that defensive checks by the company are legitimate only if conducted on data collected after the emergence of concrete suspicions.
One of the fundamental aspects sanctioned by the Supreme Court is the impossibility of examining the emails sent or received before the doubt arises about a possible irregularity. This limitation is necessary to ensure a balance between the protection of corporate interests and the right to privacy of workers, both of which are protected by current regulations.
