Where the investigation uncovers evidence of divulging confidential information, then the employer should take formal action. If I know that Senator Y is releasing a health care plan on Monday that would require mandatory surgery for every American, and he has bipartisan support for it, thats a much more specific news tip, and Id rather my friend just not tell me and save me the heartburn. We asked them why they did it. Ive been actively observing how my more senior colleagues handle that sort of thing (we need written permission to share information about clients with people connected to their situation, and knowing how to answer questions from people who arent authorised to be told something but who are definitely going to ask is covered in training). Your feelings are wrong, in this context means,Your feelings arent *morally* wrong.. Don't worry, you're still qualified to be Secretary of State. Ive seen many workplaces that dont spend an amount of time discussing confidentiality that is commensurate with its importance, or that dont go into specifics about when it is and isnt ok to tell somebody something you heard at work, and a general statement tends not to hold up to the in-the-moment excitement of oooooh I know THING about CELEBRITY! or whatever. You knew better. This includes understanding what you did wrong and explaining how you might have approached this in future (hint: ask boss, transfer via encrypted USB if necessary and allowed. If OP reasoned I told mentor, confident that there was NO WAY she would let anything slip it throws a lot of doubt on her parallel reasoning of how certain it was that the journalist wouldnt let anything slip. Assuming the coworker had evil intentions pulls OPs focus away from the real problem (disclosing an embargoed piece of information to someone not authorized to know that information at that time) and fixates it on the coworker. Even when it doesnt require them to report it, it still could have consequences they dont want to be a part of! My boss wanted to press charges, but his business partner didnt, so they just fired him. it doesnt count as they reported themselves if they later say they were ratted out by the person they reported it to. If she hadnt told the superiors, she could have been on the hook as well if it came out that you told a journalist confidential information and then told her about it. What I find interesting in the original letter is LWs insistence that it was a victimless crime because nothing bad happened as a result of their leak. I work for a government entity and believe me if you need a reminder not to text a journalist non-public information my line of work is not for you. This was supposed to be a stand-alone comment. Certainly not an electronic blog. The only thing even slightly puzzling is why during the conversation with the mentor, mentor didnt say you do understand I am obligated to report this? Maybe mentor thought that might prompt LW to do something track-covering so it was better left going directly to the bosses without warning. Im not sure whether this is something they can move on from or not, but they absolutely need to get themselves out of the mindset that their coworker ratted on them, because thinking that reporting things like that is tattling and childish is how corruption grows. You need to be ready to show that you understand that you have responsibility to understand and comply with policy, and that you're willing to do that. As Alison said, its a lot like DUI; even if no one gets hurt, theres a reason we shouldnt take those risks. This is a much more fulsome explanation of what I meant! As I said below, that may be why you werent given a second chance. So, he learns about things at the same time as the public, and he just knows when Im extra busy because theres a big release coming, or someone messed something up, etc. A little time isn't unreasonable. He shared it with one person, telling them it was a joke. A senior UK diplomat has resigned over the matter. Passing it off as a mistake, or trying to portray ignorance (in the sense of saying "oh, I didn't realize it was wrong when I did it") is just going to make it sound like you don't bother understanding or following policies. Or at least, I can. Agree with this. Taking full responsibility isnt just the better moral choice, its the more effective one. Youve got some great feedback from Alison and I hope it all works out for you. My only other advice is to consider if there were any conversations on slack that were inappropriate. Yes, this is the way to do it: Friend, I just got the best news at work, I am so excited! Its the only way they can maintain control of the information. Phrase it as a serious learning point, because you sure as hell aren't going to do it again after getting fired. Ms_Chocaholic wrote: . Changing how you feel (as opposed to what you say or do or think) is not something you need to do to solve the problem. Email DLP: A key investment management tool. Like its going to be easier to find a job because she has the integrity to say she got fired. Take ownership and accountability of it, because for better or worse, all of us could have made OPs mistake at some point in our careers. So, I can talk about it, I can say Omg, there was one scene that I was just like SuperCheese! and rolling my eyes. Almost every situation I know of where someone was fired for cause was presented publically as a position elimination.. Like I said, very strange but its worked for me. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. (Plus, were not sure how much of the inflation came from the coworker and how much came from their superiors. Its also something that happens in a business relationship rather than a personal one, because the assumption is that personal relationships are entirely off the record. Does that matter? That was the profound breach of the OPs duty. Quite recently, a client of my firm contacted us to say they had heard staff in a bar gossiping about another client. It doesnt matter if your friend is a journalist or not; thats a total red herring. It can feel like the end of the world but I promise you it isnt. OP, take a deep breath. When I was a journalist I did not appreciate people giving me tips I couldnt use! If *you* got that carried away, you cant guarantee that she wont, either. Good Lord, no. But given the kind of convo LW describes.while the LW really should not have been surprised they got reported and then fired, and does seem to be downplaying the severity, I wonder if something about the convo led them to believe it was somehow less serious than the mentor clearly understood it to be, and mentor didnt seem to do anything to help the LW understand how big a deal this is, which is kind of a bummer. Lack of integrity. As soon as someone has decided you're not a team player, or are a problem employee, then even tiny things get seen as evidence that you should be fired. ), This didnt involve a records request. So please think about that aspect when youre thinking about how she ratted you out. Like you said, it was a breach and thats serious on a professional level (your friend is a journalist, too! Sometimes when we receive an email meant for someone else, its just spam. Then whenever you send a message, you'll be given an option to "Cancel" at the top of the message before it's sent. Leaking private information in a huge breach, especially if that leak is to a journalist. Its a bigger deal because that friend is a journalist. Or they might have a zero-tolerance policy for leaks as a deterrent. We can't tell you the best way to answer, since the best way to answer is honestly and you're the only one who can give your honest answer. She probably felt she had a duty to disclose it and she may well have. journalists dont leak information, unless its something confidential about their own employers. Yep, I think its worth LW remembering that while she knew shed never leak anything again, her boss and co-workers dont. I dont want to beat up on the LW, but I do think they fundamentally need to understand that the loss of trust made it impossible for the agency to give you a second chance in this position. Nah, I think the odds of whats super exciting to a government agency being equally exciting to me are pretty slim. How is an ETF fee calculated in a trade that ends in less than a year? The employer has a policy against this and everyone working there has signed that they read the policy. Maybe you get a 2nd chance IF you were contrite enough and blamed your excitement at the new teapot program. Just because a story wasnt published about it doesnt mean it wasnt discussed internally among coworkers. That makes a certain subset of people *extremely* excited. Also, Ive seen plenty of firings that were absolutely not presented as position elimination. Even if the exact reason wasnt shared employer isnt going to say Oh, Jane took home a spreadsheet full of MNPI they will absolutely share that the ex-employee was fired for cause, not laid off. It can, should, and does happen, depending on the details of what all happened. OP can come up with steps to fix the real problem in their future jobs, but they cant really fix an evil coworker. "Even if it were, transmitting some personal data by email does not of itself breach data protection laws in any jurisdiction" Actually in the UK the Data Protection Act would apply as it is being transmitted outside of the company without the express authorisation from the data subject. Not because my coworker ratted me out, but because I came to her for guidance and instead of being straight with me, she made me think it would be OK only to be questioned hours later. And there was no social media then, so 100+++ times that now. Discretion and brand protection are as critical to this role as promotion and talking to the media. ! but you just cant. Don't worry, you're not alone. Theres no mitigating circumstance here. Moving on from that company is probably a mixed blessing. Another public sector worker here. This is your making, and while I wish you luck, you have zero cause to be disgruntled with your coworker or employer. Thats not really a response to the OP but more a pushback on some the comments. I was in tech there and had worked on a new interface for agents, lets call it TEAPOT. We need to be careful about using terms like victimless mistake. This makes it seem like they owe LW something, to be loving and release her to her best life. While it clearly appears LW would not have done any of this, the regulations and policies are written to protect the employer and coworker from any potential negative actions. The difference is if the potential for and type of jail time you risked. I think interviewers will pick up on the equivocation in your language here. Nah. Point isnt that OP doesnt have a right to feel what OP feelsif OP has a sick, gut-punch feeling, thats the truth of how OP is feeling. Why are Suriname, Belize, and Guinea-Bissau classified as "Small Island Developing States"? I was talking about this upthread before I saw this discussion. A true 100% owning of what you did. There wasnt any risk, my judgment was good!. 2 July 2018 at 9:11PM. Possible scripting adjustment: I mistakenly shared some non-public information with a friend outside the agency before it was officially released to the public. Maybe a different (and appropriately mortified) approach from the OP in those meetings would of had a different result or maybe not! but the approach in the letter definitely would have convinced me to let her go if I was on the fence. They have absolutely no obligation to keep secrets for government agencies or private companies. What is the correct way to screw wall and ceiling drywalls? If that puts it in perspective. A misdirected email describes an instance where an email is sent to the wrong person or the wrong attachment has been added to an email that has the correct recipients in it. Shes assuming the friend has more self-control than she does, which is precarious at best. A majority of those who work from home would use their own personal digital devices such as laptop, tablet or mobile to perform their daily work tasks and it is also convenient for employees to. Hopefully there still something to be said for that! This is not about a public records requestits about how information is released to the public before that information becomes public. I come across soooo much incidental information about people I know in the course of this job. They looked at themselves as an organization and realized that the damage was irrevocable. But when youve broken someones trust, they dont owe it to you to offer that opportunity and shouldnt offer it unless they sincerely believe that you could meaningfully repair the breach quickly and comprehensively. You've learned from this mistake and had no malicious intent. I feel like this misses the overall lesson Allison is trying to impart here. Youre not in a gang or on a schoolyard playground or fighting with your sibling in the backseat of the family station wagon. If youd like to learn more about human layer security and email data loss prevention (DLP), you can explore our content hub for more information. Whether nor not anyone got fired might depend on context, but somebody would at the very least get a serious talking-to. Thats the very last reporting step for something illegal/dangerous. I think its fair for you to be upset that you didnt have another chance, but also understandable that your employer felt it couldnt give you one. We received a staff email that shared that they were going to release some BIG news about positive new office changes and remodeling and that there was going to be a BIG press conference in 2 days at our office with a lot of high-up political bigwigs and asked everyone to show up for support. Im not trying to teach her a lesson, necessarily, she seems to have gotten the point. When an employer says something is confidential, take it seriously If a breach is proved, the employee may be liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages Howard Levitt Published Aug 01, 2019 Last updated Oct 28, 2019 4 minute read Join the conversation And in fact, NOT getting that second chance with them might mean that you take it more seriously and handle the next relationship in a trustworthy manner. Or well often hear from contacts on the Hill about something going on behind the scenes, like that a bill is about to be introduced. If her friend never told anyone it never would have gotten out. Its no worse than our organization doesnt protect classified information no matter how badly an employee disregards policies. It will get out, eventually. Hi LW, I agree with Alison the best way to approach with is by taking full ownership of what happened. I think people are reading defensiveness from the qualifiers probably and suppose. I can sympathize that this is still very raw for OP and perspective will only come with more time. Gov employee here and I would be in trouble as well for not reporting what LW told coworker. I once interviewed someone with a great resume but had switched specialties within the field. Its hard though, and its a skill thats learnt over time. As I read it, LWs friend couldnt pass the information along at all. This is a solvable problem. That all strikes me as stuff someone quite young and without strong professional and personal boundaries acts. Thats pretty ratty behavior. You simply let the sender know you've received it by accident, then they can rectify their mistake and you can delete the email. In my job I often get embargoed advance copies of speeches that politicians are going to give they send them out to press to help us start working on getting most of a story written and cleared so we can just drop in a few quotes and crowd reactions and publish the story within 5-10 minutes of the speech ending. You put your coworker in an awful spot by telling her this information. If you embezzle from the company and tell a coworker who then reports it, the mistake is embezzlement, not telling a coworker about it. It goes through a game of telephone and the person at the end of the line gets mad that the first person would say such a thing. Im now turning my head sideways and re-reading/rethinking. I am replying under Engineer Girl for a reason. I think that speaks to exactly why this was such a breach, though. It doesnt matter if theyd trust this person with their firstborn child. If its something that would be a big deal for LWs friends news outlet to report first, not being able to say anything to the reporters who could write about it even, hey, I hear this might happen, you should make some calls! Yeah, we dont want to go down the road if encouraging the OP to continue acting unethically that will ensure she stays unemployed. You did a dumb, impulsive thing and when you took time to consider it, you did the right thing. Also to prevent someone who might be a bit dangerous, from hurting you. Phishing emails are emails that appear to be from a legitimate source, but are actually from a malicious source. He was very good about keeping track of his boundaries, and we got very used to finding ways of being politely interested in how his work was going for him without putting pressure on him about the details. Egress Intelligent Email Security is an example of human layer security, as its able to adapt to your individual behaviour through machine learning. Occasionally our clients have been in the media and have shared part of their story. I work in patents, and regularly see information that can definitely not be made public and has to be sent back and forth with extra security measures, but would also be tremendously boring to everyone but the IP team for a few specific rival companies in a very tiny field. This comment comes across as quite clueless I work for a government entity where nonpublic information often affects peoples day-to-day lives and pocketbooks and people put a lot of money (lobbying) into knowing whats happening. It doesnt, but we still shouldnt state assumptions like facts if theyre not supported by whats said in the letter and theres nothing wrong with Michaela pointing it out. Of course. Practically everything I do in my job is confidential to some degree. But they took confidentiality very seriously, and I signed an extremely ironclad NDA, so I never told anyone any of the interesting tidbits I found out about from working there. Perhaps the email was intended for a client in which case the clients data is at risk and the sender has inadvertently committed a data leak. Later the coworker left the company and at company B was asked to write a similar report for the new company. They care a little more in the last 2 years, but not much. In sending that information to your own mailbox, you transmitted the data to a number of machines, any number of which could be intercepting the data for reading, and many do albeit for legit purposes of scanning for advertising relevant stuff or scanning viruses. I have worked and volunteered at government-related organizations before. It simply means that your employees are not to disclose proprietary information or data about your company to another person without your consent. Really? I was working on some client confidential information on my client issued laptop and I emailed this info to my personal mailbox as I wanted to continue doing work on my personal laptop; I couldn't take my work laptop away whilst on extended leave overseas. OP doesnt sound naive or too young, either. It can depend on what mechanisms are in place to protect the content of the email, who is sending the email, who it is being sent to, the content of the email, and whether the subject of the HIPAA information has provided their written authorization for unsecured PHI to be . I know it isnt the actual incident since the details dont match (no twitter or cake pictures mentioned in OPs case), but I was assuming it was something like the NASA gravitational waves thing. Its very possible that LW could think what happened to me wasnt totally fair and still accept full responsibility for it during interviews (which is obviously the smart thing to do). Oh, this is all interesting, and I appreciate all the responses. Unfortunately, a lot of times people mistake the first for the second. (Especially since termination hearings and the related records are often public records once the employee is terminated, so any concerned employer could just do a records request and get the whole story.). Point is that the higher-level feelings or lowest level conceptualization (that is, the integration of the gut punch and the sense that it cant have been that bad, if it wasnt meant badly, and sense that it cant have been wrong to trust friend, because friend was trustworthy) are still encouraging OP to draw incorrect conclusions about the seriousness of their action, and the appropriateness of their employers actions.

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