Five Lessons for Employers from California v. Riley

In the waning days of its current term, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in California v. Riley that police officers generally violate the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches by conducting a warrantless search of a smartphone seized incident to an arrest. The ruling turned largely on the Supreme Court's interpretation of a long-established exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement. Although the Fourth Amendment and the relevant exception will rarely apply to private employers, the high court's decision remains highly relevant for private employers whose workplace searches, like police searches, increasingly encounter personal smartphones, whether as part of a bring your own device program or not, and other mobile devices. Continue reading this article here.

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