Employee Privacy: Mississippi

Federal law and guidance on this subject should be reviewed together with this section.

Author: Jason T. Marsh, Phelps Dunbar, LLP

Summary

• Mississippi does not have a comprehensive statute recognizing an employee's general right to privacy in the workplace. See Common Law Right to Privacy in Mississippi.
• Mississippi recognizes four common law causes of action for invasion of privacy. These common law causes of action may give rise to an employee's claim for invasion of privacy if all elements of the claim have been met. See Common Law Right to Privacy in Mississippi.
• Mississippi does not have a general law prohibiting all forms of electronic monitoring of private employees. Mississippi does, however, have a statute specifically prohibiting the secret taping of conversations, whether the conversations are face-to-face or electronically transmitted. See Electronic Monitoring of Employees.
• Under the Mississippi Public Records Act, Mississippi has declared its public policy that public records are generally made available for viewing by any member of the public. Under this public policy, select information regarding a public employee's pay and benefits may be the subject of disclosure without violating an employee's privacy rights. See Public Records.
• Mississippi has no law regarding drug-free workplace requirements and allows employers to require job applicants to submit to a drug and alcohol test as a condition of the employment application. See Drug and Alcohol Testing.
• Mississippi law regulates employees' rights to have weapons locked in their vehicles in or near the workplace. See Weapons in the Workplace.
• Mississippi requires employers to disclose any breach of security to all affected individuals. See Data Breach Security.
• Mississippi law prohibits computer fraud. See Computer Fraud.
• Mississippi agencies must protect against inadvertent disclosures of an individual's social security number to members of the general public or to persons other than those persons who, in the performance of their duties and responsibilities, have a lawful and legitimate need to know the individual's social security number. See State Agency Protection of Social Security Numbers.