Legal Question in Business Law in California

Photographed at Work

My place of employment now say's we have to have our pictures posted on an Internal website. Simply put, I do not want my picture posted. What can I do?


Asked on 1/23/02, 8:23 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Ken Koenen Koenen & Tokunaga, P.C.

Re: Photographed at Work

Ask them to remove it. Unless you have given authorization to use your picture, they should not use it without your permission.

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Answered on 1/23/02, 8:49 pm
Wayne Smith Wayne V. R. Smith

Re: Photographed at Work

This may be a reasonable means of communication and security in the workplace. There are significant cases dealing with drug tests at work; and a picture posted internally does not seem as intrusive. There is probably a balancing test here. One needs to know the reasons for the policy before it can be challenged successfully.

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Answered on 1/23/02, 11:36 pm
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Re: Photographed at Work

I think that if the policy reasons are legitimate, such as the photos being part of a security system, you will not get far with a legal challenge. The rule about 'not using someone's likeness without permission' has more to do with commercial exploitation than with privacy -- they couldn't use your picture in an advertisment without your consent, for example; but, for comparison, consider that many workplaces require employees to wear photo ID badges. Your situation seems more like the latter.

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Answered on 1/24/02, 12:31 pm


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