Never mind firing for leaks, they dont even hire people who appear to have poor judgement about confidential information. Check out this article on that HERE. The heads on spikes of the modern workplace. Reporting misconduct is the right thing to do, and thats how an interviewer is going to see it. I reminded him that anything sent in our work email is subject to FOIA and not really completely private from our employer, so if he was going to continue to work against the plan, use personal email. So, if you find out that company X is going to be reporting a surprising drop in profits next week, the person in the company who told you this is gone. The project Im currently working on has confidentiality and embargoes that are all geared toward creating a marketplace moment. 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? How to not get fired from work for what you post or send online: Make sure your Facebook and social media accounts are locked down. In a professional context, close friendships and personal trust arent always as ironclad as they can be in personal relationships, particularly when it comes to security and confidentiality. 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. Its a big difference if you sit together at a bar, your friend mentions chocolate teapots and you say oh, this morning I was asked to design a llama-themed one before you realize that you really shouldnt have said that. The penalty for breach of confidentiality isn't restricted to employees who have . That was the profound breach of the OPs duty. Itd be much safer for the LW to ask HR what theyre going to say to other employers asking for references. So, either way my point remains. Accept responsibility for what you did. I think people beat themselves up enough internally without us having to do it for them most of the time. OP, think about your choice to share with this person. If you live in a place where its illegal to shoot guns into the air, and you shoot a gun into the air and the bullet does not actually kill anyone in its fall, you have still broken the law and placed others in danger. I love telling people things! We got [Celebrity Y] to promote a big public health initiative! This x 1000 to the comment by ENFP in Texas. So, are you clear about the severity of your action and the significance of this rule? What I ended up doing is learning to avoid mopped floors as much as possible and warning people to be careful around them. Also, am I even allowed to bring up the fact that someone ratted me out? Yes, the ratted me out thing is probably not a fair assessment of what actually happened here. The fact that her co-worker actually followed the rules of her employer does NOT make her a rat. No. Yeah, I wish the mentor had walked the LW directly to the boss to discuss this openly. The type of sanctions that Contract Killer is talking about would only apply to confidential records, not non-public records. It seems like LW has had time to process and isnt being combative. For me, it was like OK, she shared embargoed information something she shouldnt have. But when youve broken someones trust, they dont owe it to you to offer that opportunity and shouldnt offer it unless they sincerely believe that you could meaningfully repair the breach quickly and comprehensively. This is not about a public records requestits about how information is released to the public before that information becomes public. +100 to this. I screwed up in grad school and had to go in front of an IRB board for being sent information that I hadnt gotten full clearance for. You made a mistake. Accidents happen inadvertently but this is not the case here. But she also would not tell me if she spent a day at work planning for a war!). I understand the issue had to be reported, but why this way ? how did HR and OPs boss come to the conclusion that this information was spread through Slack (!) Dec. 17, 2009 -- You probably don't think twice about sending personal messages through your work e-mail. Feelings are frequently conflated with facts in our minds and it can take some work to separate them. And thats still very unrealistic / way off-base, if OP truly gets why this was a slam-dunk decision, in that particular circumstance. The best case scenario is former company only verifies employment. Yep. 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. My late dad worked for a government defence research agency for most of his career. In my experience, it was highly effective. Man I am swamped with the publicly known project I am barely treading water. I dont know the full text of the conversation and I dont want to, but she was probably in a position where she had to tell someone. Because, if you did the first apology option then I think it would be (more) possible youd get a 2nd chance. Im so sorry and I will never do anything like that again.. Im also a public affairs officer for a government agency- one that almost exclusively deals with highly classified information. someone in another department saw the post, reached out to the person who made it and asked for information about the person they had heard it from. RIGHT NOW it is totally privileged information and it needs to be treated that way. A 40 year old making the same mistake would be much harder to trust later. This was actually a very kind way to get this point across. It was bananas. And sometimes at shows they dont identify themselves as press immediately. Spek raised a good point- find out what your HR policy is so you know what to be prepared for in an interview. Thats the person were gonna call the blabbermouth in this situation? I DEFinitely sometimes shared those tidbits with friends and family who were big tiger/hippo/etc fans. And it is so hard! Lack of rigor. Before someone decides to do that, I encourage them to get legal representation. Tessian Cloud Email Security intelligently prevents advanced email threats and protects against data loss, to strengthen email security and build smarter security cultures in modern enterprises. Its no fun to be fired. When dad got on the phone he explained to the person that he understood the situation and that he was going to have to report him because he gave my mother classified information. Yeah, I thought it was from her personal cell too. 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 This is a very astute comment, especially your last paragraph. OP, I can understand why you would want to talk to someone who was mentoring you about something like this, but when you tell someone you work with that you committed a pretty serious breach of duty and sharing nonpublic information is pretty much always a serious breach!! Thats not really a response to the OP but more a pushback on some the comments. One of the things your field requires is to be able to think and act dispassionately about the information you have custody over. Appropriately so, but still, wow. She shared it via text not voice, but text, which could be seen by someone else. This is NOT a myob type situation at all. But reasonable minds can certainly differ. OP, there is another thing to keep in mind. End of story. I remember the first time (as a teen) that I had something from a volunteer position that I had to keep my mouth shut on. My boss wanted to press charges, but his business partner didnt, so they just fired him. All three have kept their mouths shut, at least to the best of my knowledge, and I can talk it over without worrying that I will cause a problem with my disclosing. I see it a lot and I wonder sometimes if its not sending the wrong message that its okay to break confidentiality because Friendship/Family Conquers All or something. 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. I think it helps that you told your coworker. It was bad. If each person tells just one person it can end up being a lot of people. You say that the information eventually became public, and you seem to think that this mitigates the problem. We all developed what we called the [cityname] twitch of looking over our shoulders before we talked about work stuff in a public place. The mistake may not have been trusting the friend with that information, but it was definitely telling her. One of my favorite shows had a plotline about a sibling not liking someone not breaking doctor confidentiality. When we think about misdirected email, we often put ourselves in the shoes of the sender. Wouldn't employers just throw my application to the bin once I declare I have been dismissed for gross misconduct? I would have serious questions about your judgment if I found out you told any reporter about something that was confidential. 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. In no time you will have your next job lined up and all this will be just a post earning you rep. Thats the very last reporting step for something illegal/dangerous. This is important both in terms of owning your mistake and not blaming the person who reported it. Assuming OP was correct and journalist friend never would have said anything, OP could have pretended it never happened. If you lean over a cubicle and whisper I broke the rule! Agreed, except for this: a journalist, who by profession is at risk for leaking said confidential information. My philosophy is that it doesnt matter what city you live in, its a small town. The communications person from the Marine Band was immediately fired when it was discovered she had leaked this information. Privacy Policy and Affiliate Disclosures. Humans, in general, are not geared towards confidentiality and secrecy long-term. Heres what to do. If it hasnt worked out yet, it isnt the end. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. So the judgment on trustworthiness is flawed. Later the coworker left the company and at company B was asked to write a similar report for the new company. Theres a difference between wishing you had a second chance (acknowledges they arent entitled to one) and being upset you didnt have one (expected that there would be one). OP needs to learn the art of discernment. 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. how else could you have met that need?) If it was something that was a big deal to LW but not huge news externally, yeah, its not a thing. It may help you to know that the dreaded why are you unemployed right now question doesnt come up in every interview. OP if I was part of an interview for you, and you brought up this situation the way its phrased here, Im sorry to say it would be an immediate pass. Or when she builds a pattern of sharing harmless information until suddenly it isnt harmless? Understandably, the agency had to let me go. Something to show that you didnt get caught you confessed. You made yourself very vulnerable, your mentor knew that, and unfortunately, youre now bearing the consequences. Does that matter? You can get past this, if you learn from the experience. If you find a colleague has breached confidentiality like this, procedures are typically clear that you DO NOT approach them yourself. It can depend on what mechanisms are in place to protect the content of the email, who is sending the email, who it is being sent to, the content of the email, and whether the subject of the HIPAA information has provided their written authorization for unsecured PHI to be . The OP would be better off to own up to her mistake and her mistaken thinking in saying/writing/texting the information, say what she learned from it, say how she would plan to deal with a similar situation about exciting confidential information if this ever happens again, and conclude by saying that it was 100% her own fault, that she doesnt blame the organization, the manager, or her coworker, that she understands that she put her coworker in a horrible position, and that she will NEVER do anything like that EVER again. Everyone absolutely everyone employed at a hospital has to undergo annual HIPAA compliance training. Clearly yall do not understand handling confidential information. Yes! It also wasnt illegal to share it, because it was about a program or something that has now publicly been announced, so this doesnt even fall under the criminal aspect brought up in the original comment. A major penalty for breach of confidentiality is termination of employment. While they may not state why someone was fired, Ive found it pretty common to state that someone was fired (or laid off etc) and if the person is eligible for rehire. Shes never even heard any of the names of our clients, except for a couple she met once at an adjunct social function. Just a bad situation. 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. Because she knows other journalists who do cover your area and one of them just might need a serious break right when she knows this information. It might just be that the scanners caught it and notified security. I once interviewed someone with a great resume but had switched specialties within the field. Reduce human activated risk to protect against email data breaches, Allow your teams to communicate securely and share sensitive data, Guiding principles that govern how we operate as a team, Diverse and inspiring individuals passionate about making a difference in the world, Join our team across a range of roles and help shape the cyber security market, Tailored compensation and career paths designed to attract and retain world-class talent, Unique and personalized benefits to help maximize your potential with us. All the meanwhile you're still trying to run a successful business and handling other things that are coming up. Was this alone enough to be fired, or is there a history? 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). As I read it, LWs friend couldnt pass the information along at all. It may be that the decision is made and it is just a matter of time before you are gone. Everyone in the workplace has an equal obligation and responsibility to ensure that rules are upheld because thats what keeps the company operating smoothly and in business and able to provide jobs to you all. Thats pretty ratty behavior. Good points, and good advice for anyone whos apologizing for anything. One day its pre-public FOUO information; what next? Cmon, it was. Best of luck in your next job! Yes, this is the way to do it: Friend, I just got the best news at work, I am so excited! Perhaps the email was intended for a client in which case the clients data is at risk and the sender has inadvertently committed a data leak. Thats just not something you can let yourself do. End of story. Leaking private information in a huge breach, especially if that leak is to a journalist. You can -and often should convey emotion in your official public statements. Some seem to imply there is no reason ever to leak information, which isnt true. The Smurfs have a secret colony in the woods of Maine!. You unpromptedly wrote a message to the friend. If youve no idea who the message was supposed to go to, simply let the sender know you received it by accident and move on. A majority of those who work from home would use their own personal digital devices such as laptop, tablet or mobile to perform their daily work tasks and it is also convenient for employees to. OP notes that she is a government employee. Obviously telling the friend was the fireable offense here, Im not arguing that. Its always easier, at least to me, to close your mouth than open it. Letter writer, it sounds like youre new to our field and may not understand the importance of keeping confidence. Back in the dinosaur era (early 80s) the directors secretary was the only one tasked with typing up yearly evaluations on high-level staff. So, you've accidentally sent an email to the wrong person. 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. Oh yes. A few weeks ago I worked on a medical chart for A Big Rockstar, but not only do I get fired if I tell anyone which one, I get fired if I open up a single page of his chart that I cant explain, if asked, what the exact and specific work-related reason for opening that page was. It still sucks, but its not really personal per se, and perhaps it will help a little bit to think of it that way. It can be exciting to know whats going to happen before it happens, even when the news itself isnt *that* thrilling. From the other persons perspective, its always easier to say Oh, dont worry, its not that bad than to get a half-hearted minimizing apology for something youre really stinging from. (For example, my BFF works at the Pentagon. Noooooo. It shouldnt happen but Id understand if it did. On the non-security side of things its fascinating to learn what the folks in the booth behind me are working on as Im quietly eating lunch, but its a serious security violation to discuss that kind of thing in public and it makes me cringe so hard when it happens. If its obvious who the email was intended for, just forward it on and cc the original sender, letting them know what youve done. I get that people can learn from their mistakes, but this could be an indicator of a lack of proper framework, and perhaps a boss wouldnt want to risk it. You simply let the sender know you've received it by accident, then they can rectify their mistake and you can delete the email. If not, that would be an additional reason for your bosses to take the maximum option to respond. Let me tell you what happened to the people who were not on the care team and accessed a newsworthy medical case. This seems unnecessarily condescending, and I dont think the LW sounds defensive here at all. Also, Im so done with people using the phrase ratted me out. Im not trying to beat up on the OP; goodness, Ive done similar things and felt the same way she does! If you want to work in comms, you need to be crystal clear that the TIMING of disclosure is a crucial issue. Accidents or mistakes are bound to happen. As a government employee they are obligated to report a breach of information regardless of whether they like the employee they are reporting or hate their guts. This is an actual security headache/nightmare for my government department as its so common for people to go out to lunch and start discussing what theyre working on while eating. I have personally learned that if you never want coworkers to find out something embarrassing or private about you, never ever tell them. This is so well said. But your processing of it has to be at one step removed. Also, the OP wont be able to ever claim the good work experience she gained from the role. True, but youre talking more about deciding to become a whistleblower over something potentially dangerous to the public. You broke a rule and you have to take responsibility. This is probably not a feasible strategy, unless the OP was at the job for only a few months. If youre excited that your agency is moving into a new building or buying land someone could buy up the new building or land ahead of time for profit. Because they turned out to not be trustworthy. The communications team is often brought on board to develop strategy for organizational decisions that may not be public for weeks or even months. So, the implication is actually the opposite of giving your feelings 100% credence its saying, separate how you feel from what you do. it doesnt count as they reported themselves if they later say they were ratted out by the person they reported it to. Alison, I really liked your advice, because it can apply to any situation where the person has truly done something egregious but has to move on.
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