The biggest snoop in your life probably isn't the FBI, your ex, or a nosy neighbor: It's your boss. At least if you're not careful. Thanks to tools like email and Internet monitoring, keystroke tracking, and even genetic testing, on-the-job spying has never been more common - or more effective. So where are the prying eyes? Wired put the largest publicly traded companies before a panel of privacy experts to find the best and worst at minding their own business.
THE BEST +
1. IBM Big Blue set the standard in employee privacy in the '60s with the first formal corporate policy. Still in the vanguard, IBM now compels its health care partners to eliminate Social Security numbers as patient identifiers.
2. HP Privacy protection is the gospel at HP. Six guardians, who report to the chief privacy officer, prevent invasions. Staffers given access to personnel files must first undergo special training.
3. Ford Dissatisfied with US standards, Ford uses stringent European Union privacy laws as the basis for its global policies. Special storage and transfer rules shield HR data from hackers and government investigators.
4. Baxter Healthcare Baxter's prescription for privacy? An in-house version of Safe Harbor, the strict set of rules developed by the US Department of Commerce. Some 35 managers double as "privacy liaisons" to keep the program alive and well.
5. Sears As goes California, so goes Sears - despite its Illinois roots. Following Golden State law, the retailer bans the use of SSNs on employee badges and other public identification in stores nationwide.
THE WORST -
1. Eli Lilly The drugmaker freaked after 9/11 and started doing background checks on its contract workers, dismissing some for old misdemeanor convictions. A spokesperson says checks on full-time employees are "even more stringent."
2. Wal-Mart Beware of falling prices - and hidden recorders! Since 1999, the retail giant has lost three lawsuits for improper search and surveillance, such as wiring managers to tape conversations with coworkers.
3. New York Times Company A staff physician sued last year, claiming she was fired for refusing to disclose medical information without employee consent. The Times argued staff doctors should not be bound by confidentiality. The Times won.
4. Burlington Northern Santa Fe The railroad broke new ground in 2001 when it demanded genetic testing to refute workers' comp claims. Lawsuits followed and BN relented; 36 workers shared a $2.2 million settlement.
5. Hilton Hotels Sure, systematic computer monitoring, hidden cameras, and background checks are common in the hotel biz. But Hilton's history of leaking sensitive personnel info is not.
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