An employer is entitled to evaluate the browser history of an employee's company computer to establish facts for termination, without requiring the employee's consent. This was decided by the Berlin-Brandenburg State Labor Court.
The employer had provided the employee with a company computer for work; private internet use was permitted to the employee only in exceptional cases during work breaks. After indications of significant private internet use emerged, the employer evaluated the browser history of the company computer without the employee's consent. Subsequently, the employer terminated the employment relationship for cause due to the detected private use totaling approximately five days within a 30-working-day period.
The State Labor Court deemed the extraordinary termination legally valid. The unauthorized use of the internet justified an immediate dissolution of the employment relationship, after weighing the interests of both parties. Regarding the browser history, there was no prohibition on the use of evidence to the detriment of the employer. Although these were personal data, the employee had not consented to their control. However, the use of the data was permissible because the Federal Data Protection Act allows for the storage and evaluation of browser history for abuse control even without such consent, and in the present case, the employer had no other means to prove the extent of unauthorized internet use.
The State Labor Court granted leave to appeal to the Federal Labor Court.
Berlin-Brandenburg State Labor Court, Judgment of January 14, 2016 – 5 Sa 657/15
Source: Press release of the Berlin-Brandenburg State Labor Court No. 9/16 of February 12, 2016
Goldberg Attorneys at Law 2016
Attorney Michael Ullrich, LL.M. (Information Law)
Specialist Attorney for Information Technology Law
Email: info@goldberg.de
