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They can only control what their employees do, and thats why they have those rules, and not much leeway for people who dont adhere to them. Shes assuming the friend has more self-control than she does, which is precarious at best. Don't use . 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. That way, the Address box of every reply starts out empty. Box-ticking SA&T wont change security behaviors. +1000. As I read it, LWs friend couldnt pass the information along at all. I think that WAS her second chance, and I think something she said at the meetings (perhaps about how the problem is the coworker for being a rat) blew that second chance. Age doesnt matter here. Back in the dinosaur era (early 80s) the directors secretary was the only one tasked with typing up yearly evaluations on high-level staff. Damn, thats hard core. Ive heard complaints from folks who arent allowed to give positive references to former coworkers who earned them. The only thing an employer may not do is make employment decisions based upon you being a member of a protected class. I would also lay odds that when LW says Coworker was understandably very uncomfortable with what I did, and we had a very nice conversation about our duties as communication officers, and trust, etc., that means that despite what LW thought about it being a nice confidential chat, her mentor figure was trying to imply to her that she was going to HAVE TO report the incident, because trust and responsibility. And honestly, you broke an embargo for your own company. Sent a confidential email to the wrong address? Unfortunately, there are instances where employees have accidentally leaked confidential information. That is exactly what could have happened to her government agency with the info that she leaked in the first place. Never mind firing for leaks, they dont even hire people who appear to have poor judgement about confidential information. Im of course devastated, and moving on and figuring out my next steps. In other words, this whole line of discussion is moot. I work in the auto industry in media communications. The coworker could have totally done the right thing and the LW would still have a right to be annoyed and hurt by the action. 1964 is what I remember. Same here. Age is hardly an indicator of a persons ability to consistently make the best choices at all times. While the 911 caller believes criminal charges are appropriate, that is a matter for the district attorney to decide. Every bit of what Ive said is probably hearsay. Except that when the reference checker asks if the candidate is eligible for re-hire (for the position they left or any other position) should the opportunity present itself, the response will be no. I work within the tech/analytics field. The government takes this stuff very very seriously. The ex-coworker reached out to me asking if I could send them a copy of the report so they didnt have to start from scratch and repeat the same work they had already done. I dont love not being able to tell her things (even though we are each others I promise not to tell anybody (but Friend) person), the way we share this information is by forwarding press releases once the information is public. But your processing of it has to be at one step removed. I have a whole bunch of very personal medical information swimming around my memory and I while some of it Ive wished I could share with my spouse, I never have. I imagine theres a section in the manual and training (possibly annually) about the great responsibility they bear around confidentiality and how people will try to scam them into breaching security, yet OP does not appreciate the weight of this. They might tell superiors accidentally, out of frustration (e.g. Dont get me wrong, she shouldnt have ever told the friend and Id understand if they were worried if she told more people, but its concerning how they immediately jumped to an even worse conclusion based on nothing but their own assumptions. Not all non-public information is expected to be treated like a state secret, assuming youre not dealing with actual classified information or NDAs. 2.) But I dont think it helps OP to feed a narrative that prevents OP from owning the situation going forward. Depending on their responses it ranged from retraining, to suspension, to immediate dismissal.. Maintaining confidentiality is a foundational occupational requirement in a lot of fields. Im so paranoid about it, that I only talk about what the company has already shared publicly. Shes never even heard any of the names of our clients, except for a couple she met once at an adjunct social function. read something out loud THEN realize that it wasnt public information. OP, you truly buried the lede: you leaked to a journalist. This is incredibly condescending. 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 Heres one: You work for the Census Bureau , which runs demographic surveys beyond the decennial Census, and came across [popular celebrity]s personal info, perhaps noting they live near you. Heres what to do. I work in retail, and the company has yearly mandatory training on How to handle confidential info. Even in the private sector, there is information that is classified, sensitive or commercially in confidence and not to be shared. Obviously telling the friend was the fireable offense here, Im not arguing that. Taking full responsibility isnt just the better moral choice, its the more effective one. Examples that most journalists would find pretty snoozy (although journalists who cover the agency super-closely for trade publications, Politico Pro, Bloomberg Gov, etc, would still be interested): Those usually come out the morning of the speech. It may be that the decision is made and it is just a matter of time before you are gone. But I had a boss who always used to try to cover his ass 110%. OP wasnt a journalist. Another public sector worker here. Agreed, that immediately got on my nerves. Let me tell you what happened to the people who were not on the care team and accessed a newsworthy medical case. Messages like this can simply be ignored and deleted. 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. Coworker would let the other authorities figure that out. LW already feels wronged. Its a common occurrence, especially within a large business where autocorrect can incorrectly select people with similar names. 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. A first offense is still a breach in trust. How do I go about asking for a job on another team? PRSA is an excellent suggestion! Also, legally email addresses themselves dont typically count as 'personal information' as they are contact addresses and are treated in similar ways to phone numbers legally, as opposed to, say, identifying information like full name, DOB and home address all in one document. Calling this victimless shows OP still doesnt have insight into their behavior. Moving forward, the best way to handle it is be honest. This is a great point LW. If it bleeds, it leads, and if its not bleeding, you might as well kick it a few times to see if itll start bleeding Nope. Copyright 2007 - 2023 Ask A Manager. 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. I used to be a journalist, I have lots of friends who are journalists and I never tell them anything that I shouldnt, even the ones I really trust. If a member of your staff violates this explicit. 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. We asked them why they did it. It would have been a ticking timebomb for them, and the next time it could have leaked beyond the friend. If it was more time than 6 months, thats a resume gap that a recruiter will ask about, and if the OP lies about the gap, an experienced recruiter will hear it in her voice. You didnt have a right to privileged information once you demonstrated that you werent trustworthy. Im a long time reader posting my first ever comment to tell you that this comment is incredibly condescending, unnecessary, and unhelpful. You simply let the sender know you've received it by accident, then they can rectify their mistake and you can delete the email. I have been fired for a dumb mistake. If we think about this, not only did she trust her journalist friend, she trusted her coworker not to tell anyone either. Basically, I was fired for X mistake. Embarrassing or inappropriate communications sent via company email can damage professional credibility, reputations, and careers. The person you wronged is not obligated to give you that second chance with them. I definitely learned my lesson, and it was a hard one, and one that I will regret for a very, very long time. OP thinks she was super discreet in texting her friend. Confidentiality is a big deal for a lot of reasons, and people in those types tend to respect that. They are designed to trick the recipient . NEVER by email unless explicitly given the go-ahead). In my first job out of college in the insurance industry I reinstated someones coverage without verifying that they had had no claims in the lapsed period they immediately called claims and filed a $40,000 claim. That all strikes me as stuff someone quite young and without strong professional and personal boundaries acts. When you accidentally receive a confidential from someone within your own organisation, things are pretty simple. Hard disagree. can you get fired for accidentally sending confidential information ninkondi prime stance 3d parallax background mod apk latest version take me to st ives cambridgeshire can you get fired for accidentally sending confidential information. The reason all this info is locked down tightly is so that they can control the message when it goes out. Only hope going forward is own up flatly and without defensiveness . Where I work, I cannot legally share information about very exciting things that are happening/about to happen. If we receive confidential information, there are very specific and non-flexible procedures we have to follow to handle those documents/information. I am really jaw-on-the-floor stunned at people taking aim at the coworker. And the coworker, well, this was information that was a major conduct infraction, not just embarrassing or private if a coworker told me theyd done this, Id have promptly reported it, not to humiliate them, but to start the process of damage control. Mandatory reporting is a thing that exists. You dont get a warning for things like that. I guarantee you that somewhere in the company handbook for the Government Agency where you worked there is a paragraph about the obligations of an employee who learns of a data breach. That would likely lead to your manager also getting fired (for not firing you in the first place) and also make your entire department/agency look bad to the public (whod be wondering who else still working there has done something similar without getting fired). Agreed. quite a lot of people are going to feel as though youre making them an accomplice in your bad behavior. (Plus, were not sure how much of the inflation came from the coworker and how much came from their superiors. But this was a self-inflicted wound, and you shouldnt frame it otherwise. I doubt it was the plan to storm Area 51. 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. Some offenses are serious enough that a single incident is enough to fire someone. You certainly don't need to blurt out a 5 minute monologue unprompted, but you do want to be ready to answer these questions because they will come up if you disclose what happened as you intend to. And maybe they can, and maybe that chain will end with someone who doesnt forward the info on, or peter out once the information does become public in this case. Wouldnt you ask why the govt didnt fire them the first time? It made it seem like some part of OP still feels hard done by, rather than really getting it. It sucks this happened, and Im sorry that this was the way it all went down. If yes, that is relevant to the question. I work for a state government agency and FOIA is a really big deal. (the confessional? "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. Check out this article on that HERE. I work in a field (not government) where some nonpublic is newsworthy but only in the arts and style sections. You may not even realise your mistake until the person you meant to send the message to says they didn't receive it (or you have a flurry of missed phone calls, as in Serena Williams . :) :) :) :) Being a wealthy heiress and a socialite IS a full-time job! If you own your mistake, meditate on it, learn from it, and learn to tell the story of how you learned from it, then you might be able to get another job in the communications industry working for a company that does not handle sensitive client data, or in another industry where there are no potential confidentiality issues with your job. Oh, thats a risky tack for OP to take if they want to stay in their field. And this will definitely have an effect on how you come across to people interviewing you in future. But I now realize that I had no business sharing my bad behavior with colleagues it put them into a completely untenable position. My employer lost a lawsuit where they had been sued for violating open records and meetings laws. I was often privy to non-public information because I was designing media campaigns around them. Thats how a lot of people get found out in the end, it doesnt just stop with telling that one friend. 4) The coworker was absolutely right to report the breach in confidentiality. Learn that about yourself, and move on. I am a govt worker in NY. LW, you are too focused on using some incorrect details to mitigate the main point: you were a trusted professional who broke one of the most basic policies in the world of communications. From there they have 72 hours to resolve the situation. She was an employee of the agency, who shared it with the journalist. Third, with bright line rules, we cannot adopt situational ethics where its ok to disclose to close-trusted-journalist-friend because we trust them. Understandably, the agency had to let me go. Something to show that you didnt get caught you confessed. OP needs to learn the art of discernment. 4. Absolutely this. a friend sent en email containing critical information and documents about a particular person to a person who wasn't that person. No checking out salary information permitted! I am a veteran employee in good standing, but if I shared Material NonPublic Information I learned on the job and was found out, I would be terminated immediately and they would be right to do so. Because a) LW broke confidentiality. Completely unrelated to the topic at hand, love the username! Its not about breaking a rule, its about potentially causing some serious issues by leaking information. Me too. The LW actually had a responsibility to keep the info confidential, and the friend doesnt. If you lean over a cubicle and whisper I broke the rule! Messages like this can simply be ignored and deleted. I ran across an old letter recently where someone had negotiated themselves into a poor position, and hit on dragging some subordinates out there on the plank with her. While most organisations take measures to prevent and protect against external cyber-attacks, many don't protect themselves against accidental leaks by their internal staff. Best of luck with your search. You unpromptedly wrote a message to the friend. I do have to wonder if the hospital failed to educate its employees on how freaking serious that kind of breach was, although Id still put the failure on the feet of the violators. And they also need to have an acute understanding that the timing of disclosure makes a HUGE, TREMENDOUS difference. I used to work in a one-industry town. People have gotten jobs in their field after vastly more serious forkups, don't despair. It stinks but in this industry, thats a deal-breaker for many. If you are still defensive or dismissive about this, it will come through in an interview. They may very well have not had the option to give you a second chance, whether you wanted to or not. You texted proprietary information to a journalist. I completely agree that in the long run, this was a kindness. Pay secrecy is a workplace policy that prohibits employees from discussing how much money they make. exciting! I replaced someone who had embezzled from the (small) company. (I dont know if the OP explicitly said off the record, but its not like journalists dont handle that all the time when people do.). Also, if your mentor went through the trouble of having a conversation with you about your duties and seemed concerned, I doubt she was out to get you she probably felt it was her duty and to her best interest to report now that you have made her an accomplice-after-the-fact in any potential breach (say, your friend was the one out to get you and it leaked before your department had any plans for dealing with a leak, this mentor would also be in trouble for not reporting it as soon as she knew if they found out she did), OP I want to comment on one aspect that I didnt see anyone mentioning directly. In other words, dont assume the information only went to the person you sent it to. 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 would have serious questions about your judgment if I found out you told any reporter about something that was confidential. And Im not saying it was fair or unfair or whether your previous employer made the right call. Ugh, yes. You just seem to still want an answer and I picked up on this as a possible avenue to reflect on in your letter. The Workplace Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for members of the workforce navigating the professional setting. Any info I pull, I have to be able to explain why I pulled it and what I was doing with it. You hear something genuinely classified and blab it too because its so cool? My boss wanted to press charges, but his business partner didnt, so they just fired him. The difference is if the potential for and type of jail time you risked. I was then let go but will be extremely vigilant in the future to never let this happen again. 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. I consider it my greatest ethical obligation in my job, because I have been entrusted with sensitive information and I treat it like Id want mine to be treated. Everyone messes up. It only takes a minute to sign up. We wont tell anyone. Government tends to operate differently. I agree that you can learn how to share without breaching confidentiality. Im not going to spell out what it was, but it was completely unethical and immoral, and shes lucky her license wasnt permanently revoked for it. Really? And if it is a part of that, the coworker was obligated to report it! All rights reserved. I know this is pedantic, but as someone raised by a mother with BPD, I feel like its important to say that no ones feelings are wrong. There wasnt any risk, my judgment was good!. Im also not going to tell anyone else! Every hospital Ive worked at requires yearly HIPAA compliance training. In my experience, it was highly effective. When we think about misdirected email, we often put ourselves in the shoes of the sender. 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. In my experience, a FOIA request can come from anywhere. If you find a colleague has breached confidentiality like this, procedures are typically clear that you DO NOT approach them yourself. Situations like this are one reason I think workplaces with confidential/sensitive information should regularly remind their employees of what confidentiality means for them, rather than leaving it as a blanket statement or only discussed during new employee training. No, no, no, no, no. Recently, the National Guard was hit with a data breach, where files containing personal information were unintentionally transferred to a "non-DoD-accredited data center by a . And even worse when it can have legal implications like for insider trading or government secrecy. Was alphabet city watching his ass, no idea. You can bet Id be gone with no second chance despite my almost-20-years and ton of good work. its not condescending to point out that what LW did was incredibly foolish. I was fired for technically breaking a rule but it was my first offense, and nothing bad actually happened, and Im definitely learned my lesson. Fired. Whether she is under FOIA or a state public records law, there are a lot of rules about non-disclosure of certain information. The project Im currently working on has confidentiality and embargoes that are all geared toward creating a marketplace moment. update: is my future manager a bigoted jerk? I would argue if you acknowledge your error in judgment, it would work more to your benefit, then classifying it as a one-off mistake and overreaction by your company. Like, its so obviously wrong that people dont even talk about it. Itd be much safer for the LW to ask HR what theyre going to say to other employers asking for references. would be frustrating if she had a good relationship with them, or if she cared a lot about the reputation of her publication as a whole. Best wishes to OP in her work on this. 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. So, thats to say that I *completely* get the idea that at some point, you get to a point where you just really really need to share. Sometimes their hands are tied too. This is essential to sanction the employee and also send out a clear . Within hours, there were writeups on tech blogs about the new iPhone before its official release. Hopefully whatever she disclosed doesnt violate a public access law, since the information was released publicly shortly afterward, but wow did she dodge a bullet. In 2014 or so, I once slapped a superior in the face because they were yelling in my face because I was stepping on freshly mopped floors. 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. I agree. You can avoid finding yourself in this position by double-checking the recipient email address (especially when autocomplete is involved), the cc field, and the Bcc field. Like, firing on the spot if I access my own chart. It pretty much doesnt matter what field you are in the higher up you go the more likely you are to be privy to information that you MUST NOT share no matter how excited you may be. And the young comment. Yet, the subordinates were not pleased! We got [Celebrity Y] to promote a big public health initiative! They may. should I be so emotionally drained by managing? The consequences are serious and could have legal implications if youre representing a government or publicly traded company. What exactly do you want her to do so you feel satisfied that shes recognizing and acknowledging the seriousness of what happened? If you had stayed they would have never trusted you again.. Accidents or mistakes are bound to happen. This x 1000 to the comment by ENFP in Texas. Nowadays with mobile devices, email and the cloud, it is extremely easy to share files, easy enough that we may accidentally send and share them to the wrong person. Its not their call. Share information about a company merging before its publicly announced? I am very, very lucky. OP, its great that you trusted your friend enough to be confident that she wouldnt share what you told her. But your framing of this does sound defensive and doesnt sound like youre taking responsibility for what happened. Yes. A breech of confidentiality like that can land you and others in jail. This is a situation that youre going to have great difficulty explaining away and I might prefer a resume gap to being at such a disadvantage. And all you learned was to avoid freshly mopped floors? Agreed. Absolutely this. The rules are severe because people need externals to keep them motivated. If it does, you can explain calmly that in a moment of weakness, you broke a serious rule regarding sending information to someone outside the company, but youve learned a hard lesson you never intend to repeat. And then THAT person got so excited that they just had to tell someone Each person thinks theyre only telling one other person, and that they can trust that person. Conversely, I cant tell him about certain things from my work, though at least he knows what I do. As far as I know, he held the highest security clearance a civilian could have. So this. No. Before I was born, there was a project where mother had to get clearance as well. Ive represented or advised friends, friends of friends and the occasional famous person, and nobody else knows anything about it nor will they ever. I dont think it was over company lines. (For your job search, this might be obvious, but steer clear of medical, legal, PR, or any other field that deals with privacy.). Yes, the ratted me out thing is probably not a fair assessment of what actually happened here. Id say forgive that coworker NOWyou put her in a terrible position by being a big blabbering blabbermouth. I wont get into too many details, but where I work had a plan that was controversial and there was both opposition to it, internal and external. This was a Friday. Egress Software Technologies Ltd. Find out what you should do when a misdirected email lands in your inbox. You broke a rule and you have to take responsibility. As in I am so, so sorry! So have a lot of other people who have managed to find other jobs. If you open a phishing email and it results in your company's confidential information being compromised, your employer may fire you. He and my mother kept their noses clean. It should go without saying: a breach of confidentiality could and would wind up in a bar complaint in my jurisdiction. If someone used the words ratted me out or told on me in an interview, that would be pretty much an immediate DQ for me as it shows a total lack of personal responsibility and maturity. When I worked for the bank in the security investigation department, we had systems in place that monitored Famous Peoples accounts and would flag them if they were opened/touched. This isnt breaking a rule; its potentially putting your organization in jeopardy. That functions differently from confidential information in government sectors and sounds closer to your examples in your original comments, but it would still be a really bad idea to share that information. The first person needs to understand that most of the time, you arent entitled to negotiate a yes, because the answer is no. Clearly yall do not understand handling confidential information. I understand the issue had to be reported, but why this way ? Good luck with your job search! Perhaps over official lines it could be interpreted by the journalist as on the record comments. how to explain you were fired, when interviewing. The type of sanctions that Contract Killer is talking about would only apply to confidential records, not non-public records. How do I make amends and go about apologizing to former manager(s) after being dismissed for gross misconduct? Protect your people from socially engineered phishing attacks, Defend against attacks originating from compromised supply chain accounts, Detect fraudulent invoices and payment requests, Prevent people falling victim to targeted impersonation attacks, Defend against the delivery of ransomware and malware by email, Stop phishing attacks that lead to credential theft, Prevent email data loss caused by human error, Block exfiltration of personal and company data, Preserve ethical walls to prevent disclosure of information and avoid conflicts of interest, Apply the appropriate level of encryption to sensitive emails and attachments, Detect and prevent advanced email threats that slip through Microsoft 365, Provide people with easy, actionable advice in real-time at the point of risk, How to use a hacker's toolkit against them.
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