
If the employee sent the photos to his home or self before turning the phone in then it is still a fault of McDonalds and they are responsible for the actions of those they employ. I think that the only way you can say that McDonalds is not at fault at this point is to prove that the one who posted the pictures was not an employee of the company but a customer who found the phone and sent these photos to himself before turning the phone in. But in this day many are simply too busy in their own little worlds to care if you left your purse, wallet or cell phone behind.
If this was Canada the privacy act would likely become a major factor. This is that no employee or employer can release private information about you to another person with out your written consent.
So in either case there would be an invasion of privacy been made here.
Sorry I am unfamiliar with your state laws on this and I guess the answer might even vary state to state.
I think the issue they have to stand on is that there was no reason for the person to be going in to the area in the phone with photos to find a number to connect the owner. This in and of its self is a privacy issue.
As far as I know any act you commit when on the clock (Unpaid breaks being the exception as that is person time by law.) your manager is accountable for as well as your self and the company. I think the court would give tolerance to the company and manager as they could not know what had transpired if the pictures were sent via the customer phone to a third party for selling or posting. If they can prove a company computer was used in the transportation of the pictures it would drastically increase their accountability.
You can see pretty much how the defense is shaping up...
QUOTE |
McDonald's owner wants out of naked photos lawsuit December 24, 2008 apnews FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.-The owner of a McDonald's franchise in northwest Arkansas wants out of a lawsuit alleging employees posted nude photographs on the Internet from a cellular phone lost there. Mathews Management Co. wrote in a court filing that even if the allegations by Phillip and Tina Sherman of Bella Vista were true, the alleged conduct by its employees would be outside the scope of their employment and the company would not be liable for those acts. The company also contends it owed no legal duty to protect the Shermans. "The phone was left at the restaurant solely due to the plaintiff's negligence, and there is no law establishing a duty on the part of a restaurant franchisee to safeguard the contents of a negligently lost cell phone," the motion filed Tuesday reads. The motion asks that the company, which owns several McDonald's restaurants in the area, be dismissed from the suit. The lawsuit by the Shermans claims that Phillip Sherman lost his phone at the Fayetteville restaurant on July 5. The phone contained nude photographs his wife sent him. Though employees promised to secure the phone until Phillip Sherman returned, his wife began receiving text messages from it, the suit claims. The photographs later made their way to a Web site. The lawsuit asks for more than $3 million in damages from McDonald's Corp., Mathews Management and Aaron Brummley, a manager of the restaurant. The suit also asks for money to cover the cost for having to move to a new residence. |
Some interesting facts are coming out in this,. They said they would secure it and then his wife started to get text messages? I wonder what the text messages said. I believe that these texted messages can perhaps make or break the case. IF the employees sent texts talking about the pics then posted them on the internet you have very clear breech.
QUOTE |
As far as I know any act you commit when on the clock (Unpaid breaks being the exception as that is person time by law.) your manager is accountable for as well as your self and the company |
I think the bottom line is a photo was posted without consent and whether it was a nudie or not is not the real issue just more embarrassing for the lady.
I know it seems unfair for the manager to be more accountable then the employee, I think depending on what the issue is it is right sometimes especially when it comes to ensuring people are properly trained and protocols. I do not think suing so much as a fine might be appropriate for this type of occurrence. Any lawsuit should be laid on the person who did the actual posting only as long as it can be proven that proper procedures were in place and that the management team was unaware of the situation.
Yes, but the main problem I see here is the man called the store and told them he had forgotten his phone there. At that time I am guessing a employee went over to where he was sitting and found the phone. Now the question is who answered the phone? If the manager answered the phone and had a employee check for the lost phone while this guy was waiting. Now the person who answered the phone was able to tell the customer, "Yes, We have it right here". We know someone told him his phone was there and would be secured until him or his representative was able to pick it up.
Now the big question is whether a employee went and found it while he was on the phone with an employee or was the phone already found and turned in? This is why I think the text messages are going to be important as to what their content was.