Legal Question in Business Law in Pennsylvania

Re: employers right to email account

You asked about legal rights to an email account.

It's a toss up with a slight edge in your favor.

First and foremost, it is not just improper for an employee to use a Web mail service as their work email. It is stupid for the employer to allow this and it is almost as stupid for the employee to use a private account for work purposes. But I won't go into the reasons for this.

If the Web mail account was set up at the direction of the employer then the account arguably belongs to the employer.

There are actually three questions here. 1) Who owns the information in the account currently? Without question the information in the account regarding the employer belongs to the employer. 2) Who owns the account now and in the future? Assuming the employee did not set up the account at the direction of the employer and intends no competitive use of that account then the employee owns the account. 3) May a former employee use such an account to compete with the employer? No.

Considering the trouble the matter may cause and the possible temptation to use the account for improper purposes, the former employee should turn over all the employer related matter to the former employer. The employee should then consider whether to terminate the account, turn the account over or use the account for any purpose EXCEPT for competition with or harassment of the former employer.

Regards,

Roger