can you get fired for accidentally sending confidential information10 marca 2023
It can be exciting to know whats going to happen before it happens, even when the news itself isnt *that* thrilling. Per my story above, when I made the mistake that I was fired for, I did take responsibility at the time, and they fired me anyway. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act now requires employers to give up to two weeks of paid sick time if you get the coronavirus or were told to quarantine by a doctor. Oh honey, how young are you? That makes the violation much worse. The coworker did the right thing. For what its worth, one thing I noticed from your letter is language that sounds very social, discussing your trust in your friend, being ratted out by your mentor, not being given a second chance, and so on. Don't worry, you're not alone. On the weekend, I was sending a personal email to a friend. If asked specifially try to describe in detail what happened and what you learned from it, for example: ask if the new employer has clear guidelines on data handling. Yup, landline. An in-person meeting might be more appropriate if you accidentally sent information about your plans to find another job to your manager. This was a person whose reviews had been glowing up until that moment and I am sure they are still upset that this came out of the blue. Report and act quickly 1) Slack vs text: doesnt matter. But I agree that reporting coworkers for actual errors that actually affect the company isnt ratting. And it doesnt sound to me as though the OPs coworker was in any way a rat. In a roundabout way, they somewhat did you a kindness by firing you. The co-workers obligation is to the employer, not to the OP. Coworker Jean who would CC her boss and her grandboss when Jean thought shed caught somebody in an errorbut would then cease CCing once she realized that there was in fact no error? But I dont think it helps OP to feed a narrative that prevents OP from owning the situation going forward. As a former journalist, I can assure you journalists dont leak information, unless its something confidential about their own employers. Journalists discuss things all the time that dont make it into published stories, or make it into stories that get killed, or get used for shaping further investigation, or even just as gossip. You got a hard hit, and I am sorry for all the difficulty that causes. Build sneaky protections into your life so you get away with violating important rules is NOT what LW needs to learn. It also protects the coworker from any immediate threats or retribution by LW. I have a friend whose mother did work for an intelligence agency during WW2. The issue of whether HIPAA information can be emailed is complicated. I do have to wonder if the hospital failed to educate its employees on how freaking serious that kind of breach was, And also failed to inform them that the system tracks who looks up a particular patients record. LW I encourage you to ask yourself why you wrote this: Your actions showed you were not trustworthy with confidential information. The details dont really matter. I recall a year or so into this administration at least a couple federal departments making A Big Deal out of leaks because it seemed like every other story (usually negative) was quoting an anonymous source sharing sensitive information they werent authorized to release. I encourage you to get involved with PRSA. But your friends profession means you often cant share these types of things with her because of other peoples perceptions about it they dont know your friend, and while she may take off the record seriously, some journalists dont and your coworkers have no way of knowing which type of journalist she is. YOU know you wouldnt do it again, but nobody else can really know that. LW doesnt seem defensive at all here, and its okay to feel upset while still taking ownership of their actions. Really? Oh yeah, my response wasnt to you it was just to continue what Alanna said. Its good to hear from you! They also rely on constant prompting that can give even the most diligent employees click fatigue after a while. one last post-script: this person wasnt super good at their job, but was a teammate i worked closely with, and doubt they had been put on a PIP prior to this. Or, maybe they totally overreacted, who knows its impossible to say from here. OP doesnt sound naive or too young, either. Its not great, but some breaches really are that serious, and employers cant always be like the library giving amnesty for late fees if people bring the books back. She already acknowledged that its 100% her fault. Once you realize that you are likely on the road to employment termination, you need to know that there are options: Responding To The Red Flags. Where did you go from here? Much safer. I am really jaw-on-the-floor stunned at people taking aim at the coworker. Was the friend a journalist, or is there something else that would explain why she said that? The reply: Yes, the friend I texted happened to be a journalist but doesnt cover the area that I was working in. I got fired due to sending an email by mistake to the wrong person that had someone else's credit card information in - Answered by a verified Employment Lawyer . Especially since the letter seems to have been written almost immediately after the incident, before their feelings had time to settle properly. LW, please, please look hard at what happened and how you can promise yourself first of all that this was the last time. Moving forward, the best way to handle it is be honest. Yes, this is the way to do it: Friend, I just got the best news at work, I am so excited! But fairly often it was classified to some degree, and he could only talk about how his project was going but not about what it was. All the meanwhile you're still trying to run a successful business and handling other things that are coming up. Id say forgive that coworker NOWyou put her in a terrible position by being a big blabbering blabbermouth. I actually think your big mistake was telling your coworker, not telling a trusted friend. Like I said, very strange but its worked for me. Before I hired you, Id want to know you were familiar with and in agreement with our ethical code, which talks a lot about protecting our clients. Im glad youve learned from your mistake, and I really hope you take this experience to heart as you continue your communications career. This is one of those very serious offenses for which there are no second chances in many organizations, even when the breach is accidental or through slop practices and not intentional. I was sent home, and then fired over the phone a few hours later. For a market where most of this stuff lives in a big way for one season, and then only has some ongoing staying power? In the real world, it happens often enough that I think its more realistic to talk about the practical ways to do it that keep you on the safe side of the boundaries. For many fed and state agencies, non-public records _must_ be released on a records request despite their non-public status unless they fit into a narrow set of explicit exemptions. This issue recently came up for me as an interviewer. Or it could be about a broader picture like if youd had performance issues or other problems that made it easier for them to decide to just part ways. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. So- bad judgement buddies? I wonder if OP ever got the chance to correct the misunderstanding. No matter how small the company, they trust you to safeguard the data, and you didnt do that. We cannot do our job with our leaders if they cannot trust us. You wrote, The only reason I got fired was because I was ratted out by a coworker for a victimless mistake and was fired unfairly. But you werent fired because your coworker reported you; you were fired because you broke a serious rule. Everyone absolutely everyone employed at a hospital has to undergo annual HIPAA compliance training. In a truly dangerous/vital public information sphere there are agency heads/regulators/IG offices/congressional members/even the police depending on the issue that you should contact before going to the press. All of that being said, I wish her the best in moving forward and finding another job shell bounce back and be the wiser for it. 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. The financial firm I worked for had mandatory quarterly compliance meetings with examples of Dont Be This Guy Because He Doesnt Work Here Anymore. Honestly, I might be more likely to dismiss (or not hire) someone who, like the LW, does not seem to understand what exactly they did, what it could have caused than someone who, for personal ethical reasons, deliberatly leaked information, but understands that this is Not OK. OP, if everything that was predictably risky, harmful, dangerous, bad, illegal or wrong really felt bad on some core level, we would almost never need to make rules. An employer of mine got a FOIA request where they asked for every email wed sent to anyone from any regulatory agency. 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. Yeah, I agree. If people really need jobs, they need to act like they really need jobs. She would ask every rep if they were using TEAPOT o service accounts, and would proudly exclaim, My daughter built TEAPOT! She thought she was connecting with the people who helped her. I get so exasperated with TV shows where a SO throws a tantrum about a cop/government worker not being able to tell them stuff, and turns it into a trust issue. Sometimes its because someone could obtain an unfair benefit from early access to what will later become public information (e.g., think analogous to insider trading). Resist the temptation to gossip about fellow employees and don't express your disdain for your. Its a common occurrence, especially within a large business where autocorrect can incorrectly select people with similar names. Don't be me, is what I'm saying I guess! Or does it only matter that I broke a rule? This disclosure was not inadvertent, and trying to frame it that way could backfire pretty hard. At the time, I thought it would be ok since it wouldnt cause a problem, but I realize it was not up to me to make that judgement. I would not immediately snap into how can I report this? I was wondering the same thing. I dont find it understandable that the OP expected a second chance for this, as someone who routinely deals with unclassified-but-FOUO, Confidential, and Secret information, except insofar as I can have sympathy for someone who perhaps didnt understand the gravity of their actions until consequences came down. You might add to Alisons script, I knew immediately that I needed to report my indiscretion, and I did so right away. The violation was only victimless by accident and confidentiality rules dont hinge on whether or not the leak is known to have caused damage. I now work somewhere where I have access to sensitive information, including my own. But how do I explain this to show I learnt from my mistake and get a new job. They got caught. But when I wrote letters to the llama farmers whose llamas had bitten a client whose story about her life-threatening goat allergy was featured in the papers (obviously this is not what actually happened), I had to be sure I didnt say anything about the llama farmer letters that could link to the goat story. Thats an important impulse to explore to avoid other similar situations with gossip. Why are Suriname, Belize, and Guinea-Bissau classified as "Small Island Developing States"? The Workplace Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for members of the workforce navigating the professional setting. He and my mother kept their noses clean. Everything from whats going to be on sale for Black Friday, to customer financial data. The one time I filled a confidentiality-bound role (as a temp) the information I was given was specifically NOT to tell the person you were obligated to report. You didnt have a right to privileged information once you demonstrated that you werent trustworthy. Assuming this is in the US, and were talking about FOIA laws, typically a records request will come through a particular channel (not likely to be some random employee in communications.). so that youre ready the next time it happens at your next job. It stinks but in this industry, thats a deal-breaker for many. Noooooo. I think this really depends. From there they have 72 hours to resolve the situation. Yep, I have a friend whose grandmother was a codebreaker and took loose lips sink ships seriously till her dying day. Conversely, I cant tell him about certain things from my work, though at least he knows what I do. I was new, too eager to please, naive and I let the client rush me instead of following established protocol. You really think a lawyer would publicly (extremely publicly) admit to doing something he hadnt done, for which he was sanctioned and fined by regulators, and permanently ruin his own reputation in the process? This is a bad enough screw-up that I would be contemplating a career change, or at least a pivot to an area of communications where things like confidential information and media embargoes arent ever a factor. Misdirecting an email can be awkward. Talking about your work on a more general level is usually allowed unless your employer or their client is unusually paranoid. Yes, I did filing in a small-town law office where almost every name was familiar and nothing I read or saw left the office. It should go without saying: a breach of confidentiality could and would wind up in a bar complaint in my jurisdiction. I got that impression as well and have had younger coworkers who sent random, very personal info to me in texts. And theres a difference between feeling (sensation) and feeling (conclusion drawn from integrating sensations and information). However, it is unlikely that the circumstances of your firing will be able to be overlooked by an employer who needs to trust your judgment with sensitive data, definitely for the foreseeable future, possibly for many years into your career. Calling this victimless shows OP still doesnt have insight into their behavior. Its not about breaking a rule, its about potentially causing some serious issues by leaking information. Good points, and good advice for anyone whos apologizing for anything. Journalists are very charasmatic and will fish for info its their job. Another public sector worker here. That is exactly what could have happened to her government agency with the info that she leaked in the first place. Those who work in circumstances that require them learn how to filter through multiple layers of risk when they get to a point where they come up against that need to share. Regardless of what the coworker did, ideally we want to nudge OP toward exercising greater impulse control and discretion if OP wants to have a successful career in the same sector/field. Its your actions that are right, wrong, or in that confusing gray area, and what you feel doesnt have to dictate what you do. If someone stole money from their workplace, or illegally harassed a coworker, and their colleague reported it would that person be a rat too? A federal appeals court recently addressed whether employees had standing to bring a lawsuit when their personally identifiable information (PII) was inadvertently circulated to other employees at the company, with no indication of misuse or external disclosure. The type of violation you are talking about normally only applies to confidential (shall close) records and not non-public (may close) records. Fwiw the journalist agreed to destroy the info. Its a bigger deal because that friend is a journalist. Getting fired sucks. Hows work? Thanks for answering! Having worked in communications and journalism for the past 15 years, I think this ishonestly really bad. Based on the post its probably public now, so I would guess its likely not too exciting. You learned, BOY HOWDY did you learn, and now you dont mess around not even gossiping with co-workers or any of those other little ways that could instill doubt in your discretion. Also in any governmental job or any job governed by many laws and regulations (such as medicine, law, dentistry, etc) they are laws and compliance regulations in place that must be abided by and every employee had to sign such an agreement usually yearly but at least upon hiring. In this situation, it is acceptable to make 'fear of attachment' jokes. Egress Software Technologies Ltd. Find out what you should do when a misdirected email lands in your inbox. Life is full of these weird potholes we find ourselves in at times. Thank you for explaining this! A terse to non-existent IT policy or one that's full of unexplained jargon can work against a company. You did wrong, fessed up, and got fired anyway. There isnt really such thing as a rat in the workplace. LW used Slack at work (and was not supposed to) With regards to getting a new job within the software engineering/analytics/data science field, I wouldn't lie on application form and in interviews if asked why I left my old job. LW is undisciplined and has a big mouth. There wasnt any risk, my judgment was good!. How to answer question on moving to another country for job? Let me tell you what happened to the people who were not on the care team and accessed a newsworthy medical case. Or when she builds a pattern of sharing harmless information until suddenly it isnt harmless? A little time isn't unreasonable. She was an employee of the agency, who shared it with the journalist. Its going to be a hurdle. Yeah, we dont want to go down the road if encouraging the OP to continue acting unethically that will ensure she stays unemployed. You cant even take a look at *your own* records if you are also a patient at the medical facility. A first offense is still a breach in trust. I will never not believe the publisher did that intentionally and threw him under the bus. Thats a big deal. What is the point of Thrower's Bandolier? Accidents or mistakes are bound to happen. Sometimes were lucky and there arent any repercussions. Good luck to you I think Allisons advice for answering questions about this experience is spot on. That brings us to your questions. I sent confidential documents to someone by accident via email I need the file completely removed - Gmail Community Gmail Help Sign in Help Center Community New to integrated Gmail Gmail Stay on. It being Silicon Valley, not only was the phone found, it was immediately identified for what it was. We all developed what we called the [cityname] twitch of looking over our shoulders before we talked about work stuff in a public place. Not necessarily for the leaking but for the way youre talking about it. I got defensive and young from OPs response. This was also my thought. This is why you never ever confidentially share work-related things with colleagues. But she also would not tell me if she spent a day at work planning for a war!). This has to be, and often is, done formally, with agreements to give something secret in advance so the journalist can prep a story for later, when its OK to share. I wonder how trustworthy the LW considers themself (sp?)? Note: You dont want to frame this as It would have been made public eventually so I did nothing wrong. Your tone is still very much acknowledging that you messed up. 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. Doesnt matter that its your friend or that you trust her, its still a huge liability. And that doesnt even take into account that I could be prosecuted for divulging any private information. The OP was not entitled to be making calls on who outside the org could be trusted with this information. Or, heck, for all I know he didnt actually work on anything that interesting. Heres what to do. You were wrapped up in a project and yes you messed up but no you didn't mean to. @MarkAmery OP said themselves that what they sent was 'client confidential information' but ruled out trade secrets/IP being involved. Since this incident, Ive taken steps like [saving journalist friends as contacts in a different phone, deleting my Slack channel, etc. If you are still defensive or dismissive about this, it will come through in an interview. In most reporting policies i am aware of it would be considered tipping off and get the person reporting in trouble. As far as I know, he held the highest security clearance a civilian could have. A lot of times, the actual employee might not be important, but they might know something like when a key senior person works, or gossip about so-and-so, that is then used to either help with hacking, help with fraud, do additional social engineering where they know just enough about a topic to lead the conversation, or in some cases to put pressure on a higher-level person to try to get them to give further information or make certain decisions. But OPs situation sounds like more of a case of I am just soooo excited about Cool Thing that I had to tell rather than something dangerous or corrupt is going on and the public should know.. If you cant keep your mouth shut then you need a new line of work. As a government employee she would have been trained on that rule and should have fully understood the ramifications of breaking it. Of course. I had the same thoughtthat was very unwise. It would probably breach a few laws in other European countries too. Especially in banking! If someone had been privy to the list of cities prior to the announcement, and leaked it, they would 100% have been fired. Maybe she had to report it for her job (as some people are speculating) but even still, its okay to be annoyed at someone even if its not 100% logical. Thats why they told you the information was confidential. Ive only had a very general idea of what my husband does since 2002, because he cant tell me. It will get out, eventually. She probably felt she had a duty to disclose it and she may well have. Im not understanding how OPs update comment reads as defensiveit shows significant progression from deflection to ownership, to me. I just want to remind people that it happened. Handling confidential information discreetly is a day to day part of working in communications, particularly for government entities (I say as someone in this field). Im a long time reader posting my first ever comment to tell you that this comment is incredibly condescending, unnecessary, and unhelpful. Share information about a Harry Potter book before it being officially released? Is it FOUO though? Noooo. If it was the 2nd option then, yeah, they were going to let you go. She knew about a leak and didnt say anything, who knows what else she is helping to hide, My boss, in a well meaning way and to correct some weird barriers previously put in place by the person before him, told me openly that if Big Boss [aka the owner] asks you anything, just answer him, its all good, you dont need to filter things through me or anything., And I just tilted my head and laughed at him saying Even if you told me differently, I would tell him whatever he wants to know. Which given our relationship he just giggled and responded with of course and thats the way it should be.. And I dont think it helps the OP to say that she doesnt have the right to have feelings of resentment toward the coworker. I dont know whether you meant it this way, but the co-worker is not untrustworthy for reporting this. Of course, its your fault but it is only human to be annoyed with someone, especially someone who seemed to completely misrepresent what happened. Finally I decided to own it at the next interview and I got the job. No work friendship is worth putting my familys financial security on the line. Access rules are very, very strict, and there are reminders all the time. NEVER by email unless explicitly given the go-ahead).
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