Sometimes they do, and other times they tell the person telling them that they or their actions negatively impacted another person that *they* are the ones in the wrong for telling them something that made them feel bad. The terminology is often not eligible for rehire., And every time Ive ever given a formal reference, that has been one of the questions: Would you hire her again? or Is she eligible for rehire?. Even innocuous-sounding information, like the name of a database, can be a huge security risk. Im sorry it happened to you, though, and it definitely stinks. Granted, it was to your older co-worker rather than your boss, but that still shows you felt uncomfortable with your actions. Is a HIPAA Violation Grounds for Termination? - HIPAA Journal It might not seem to be that big a deal to you, but depending on what the information you shared was its really easy to use seemingly trivial information for profit. Yes. Period. So mention it only if explicitly asked. We let him go for incredibly poor judgmentlike putting me as a reference, for example.. A little time isn't unreasonable. Id like to know what LW said at the two meetings they gave her before firing her. In addition to Alisons script, I think it also reflects well on you that you reported what you had done. If youd like to learn more about human layer security and email data loss prevention (DLP), you can explore our content hub for more information. Rather than leading you on and allowing you to continue to work for them under a cloud of mistrust (and all the downsides that come with that), they made a clean break and released you to get a fresh start elsewhere. If that puts it in perspective. But what you do when youre on the other side of the inbox? Even though I was only suspended for two weeks, it hurt so, so much. If theyd covered up for her/not removed her access to confidential info and she did it again, their jobs would be on the line too the next time. I would have been fired if I did any one of the things OP did when I worked for the feds (e.g., using Slack, speaking to a journalist without authorization even if they were a long-time friend, disclosing soon-to-be-public information before it was publicly available). The fact that you were surprised and angry (to the point of calling her a rat, essentially) speaks to the fact that you actually do NOT know who you can expect to keep things secret, at least not as well as you think. Sent a confidential email to the wrong address? My code is GPL licensed, can I issue a license to have my code be distributed in a specific MIT licensed project? (Many of these claims have to be handled by specialists who have security clearance, but not all of them.). One of the things your field requires is to be able to think and act dispassionately about the information you have custody over. it really should be I made a foolish mistake, Its more a case of I broke the rules bigtime and expected someone else to cover up for me.. my boss accidentally sent me a message complaining about me Everything from whats going to be on sale for Black Friday, to customer financial data. None of this makes you a bad person, untrustworthy, or unemployable. 7 Ways Your E-mail Can Get You Fired - US News & World Report There was no warning, no suspension, nothing. You asked how to handle this in future interviews and one key is owning the mistake, taking responsibility for it. Maybe you get a 2nd chance IF you were contrite enough and blamed your excitement at the new teapot program. But reasonable minds can certainly differ. Though there are a few that would be exciting. Theres beating themselves up, but then theres also understanding and feeling properly appalled that they did something really unconscionable. Im assuming the LW plead their case and filled in relevant information. I came here to say this. ), You also werent fired for technically breaking a rule. You were fired for actually breaking a rule, and a serious one. Im sorry, what? Wouldnt you ask why the govt didnt fire them the first time? We asked them why they did it. You could say that, but itd be a lie, which would be an automatic dealbreaker for many potential employers, and theres no guarantee that the previous employer would keep the cause for firing secret. Learn how to protect your investment management firm through intelligent email DLP. [TN] Accidentally emailed very confidential information. What - Reddit but to start the process of damage control. Yes, some employer will bin you, others might give you a second chance. Both your friend AND your co-worker. What video game is Charlie playing in Poker Face S01E07? Copyright 2007 - 2023 Ask A Manager. Ethically, you dont have to do anything. What OP did was incredibly serious and, as happened, a fireable offense. The fact is, its just not their secret to share. The above divulged details to a journalist about allocation and resources they should not know about. Employees also. So please think about that aspect when youre thinking about how she ratted you out. When theres something I really want to share with my wife, I mask it, pretty much what we do here talking about how the client invested in llama shearings, or called up asking about rumours of purple llamas, or asked us to sell all their teapots that kind of thing. BUT, that shouldnt excuse leaking things, and theres a big difference between a spouse or a journalist, though I can understand why it can still be difficult. The mistake was breaking company policy not that they announced to a coworker they broke company policy. The phone rang in the middle of the night and my mother picked it up, before she could hand the phone to my father, the person on the other end of the phone explained everything that was going on and why he was calling. Absolutely this. Remember when Beyonc lip synched at Obamas inauguration? Especially in banking! LW, first, I want to offer sympathy. It was sheer luck that she didnt get caught by some other means. But I cant talk about the specifics of that scene. Don't be me, is what I'm saying I guess! I agree with Alisons response. You might add to Alisons script, I knew immediately that I needed to report my indiscretion, and I did so right away. Disclosing Government information to a journalist (even a friend in confidence) without permission is a major breach of confidence and Im not surprised it resulted in a significant sanction. Fired. Ramp up your privacy settings across all accounts. So have a lot of other people who have managed to find other jobs. Agreed, except for this: a journalist, who by profession is at risk for leaking said confidential information. I agree with you! Dec. 17, 2009 -- You probably don't think twice about sending personal messages through your work e-mail. As someone who practices public relations, calling this victimless gives me a lot of anxiety. LW best of luck! Log the incident in an 'cyber accident book'. Discretion and brand protection are as critical to this role as promotion and talking to the media. 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. [duplicate]. She can still apply to jobs in her field, and even in the fields you noted, shell just have to be very clear in interviews that she understands why she was fired from this job and how shell work to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. You may ask them to delete the email before they read it. Thats the wrong lesson to learn. What if another journalist saw the email over your friends shoulder? (The fact that your friend is a journalist makes it particularly egregious.) Screw-ups happen. Unless his bedroom was a SCIF and the phone secured, thats really bad. I dont love not being able to tell her things (even though we are each others I promise not to tell anybody (but Friend) person), the way we share this information is by forwarding press releases once the information is public. Can You Get Fired for Opening a Phishing Email [Deep Research] Yes, own it. I agree that its ok to be upset with people, even if its irrational or illogical, as long as we ultimately let it go and refrain from mistreating someone because of our illogical emotional response. Which means have to vet things like your friend is a journalist, but doesnt cover your area? Likewise, LW needed to understand that you dont get a next time not to tell anyone confidential information just because you get it now that they meant it when they said the information was confidential. Choose your time limit (you can only choose from between 5, 10, 20, and 30 seconds) Hit save changes at the bottom of the page. I dont / cant post it publicly, but I can share all kinds of stuff with people close to me even friends in journalism, though I always specify off the record before i dish and my employer doesnt care because the concerns about confidentiality arent strict NDA / security issues. Im also not going to tell anyone else! Can you get fired for using work email for personal use? That was a stressful week for all concerned. I did not get fired for the offense, but I genuinely learned a great deal from the experience and it changed the entire way I interacted with clients, for the better. I would have ratted you out too. People have gotten jobs in their field after vastly more serious forkups, don't despair. Or the surrounding land if its something that will raise property values. No one ever called for a reference. 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. Then the stories died down and the pressure with it even though there were still occasional leaks. Thank you for pointing this out! Youre heading in the right direction, and youve also gotten some really good advice. If its obvious who the email was intended for, just forward it on and cc the original sender, letting them know what youve done. (And thats before you tack on that LW thought it wasnt SO bad because he told Journalist Jason, who can keep a secret, as opposed to Reporter Robert, whos a real sieve.). I have information that I have kept confidential for more than a decade that I know the patients wife does not even know (think undisclosed criminal record). Yeah, thats a good point. I agree. Remember to be kind to yourself: youre human, you made a mistake and, as you said, youve learned from it. In fact, think of it this way: you put your journalist friend in a situation where she was potentially sitting on a scoop but she actually kept mum to protect you. Agree with this. how else could you have met that need?) I question that there are no details about your Monday meeting with HR here. I encourage you to spend some time really thinking about this and absorbing the very good feedback you have generally received here. This is NOT a myob type situation at all. How did you talk to your boss about the slack channel full of journalists? Were you able to correct the factual mistake in context, and what phrasing did you use? I was coming to the comments section to say the same thing. But given the kind of convo LW describes.while the LW really should not have been surprised they got reported and then fired, and does seem to be downplaying the severity, I wonder if something about the convo led them to believe it was somehow less serious than the mentor clearly understood it to be, and mentor didnt seem to do anything to help the LW understand how big a deal this is, which is kind of a bummer. Also, if your mentor went through the trouble of having a conversation with you about your duties and seemed concerned, I doubt she was out to get you she probably felt it was her duty and to her best interest to report now that you have made her an accomplice-after-the-fact in any potential breach (say, your friend was the one out to get you and it leaked before your department had any plans for dealing with a leak, this mentor would also be in trouble for not reporting it as soon as she knew if they found out she did), OP I want to comment on one aspect that I didnt see anyone mentioning directly. My boss and I had a very serious conversation about it, and I think the only reason I was not fired was that I immediately and unequivocally took responsibility. Your failure to understand the gravity of your actions is alarming. And especially, sharing information that youre not supposed to tends to be the type of thing that will get you fired immediately without another chance. You can bounce back! But leadership has to know that if they share confidential material with us that it will stay confidential. Or when she builds a pattern of sharing harmless information until suddenly it isnt harmless? 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. Im glad that youve had time to think about it and can own the mistake, thats the most important part when we mess up. And most of the real socialising happened at house parties and dinner parties, not restaurants or bars. And Im pointing out that it wasnt a record at all. But we have embargoes for a reason. They care a little more in the last 2 years, but not much. I love my younger co-workers and value their fresh take on things and energy, but there is a clear pattern of not understanding reputation risk and liability. OP, specifically following up with Alisons advice above, you were fired because you showed your employer that your first reaction when learning about confidential information was to text (1) someone outside of your company who was not authorized to know that information and (2) someone who was a journalist, who by profession is at risk for leaking said confidential information EVEN IF you only know them as a friend and EVEN IF you promise pinky swear that they would never ever do that. Ugh, yes. Shell lose credibility in the hiring process, and even if she did slip through and get hired, its automatically grounds for a dismissal if the truth ever came to light (even in Canada, where it is harder to let people go from roles than in most of the US states). I think one can be upset at not getting a second chance without feeling necessarily entitled to one. That way, the Address box of every reply starts out empty. She already acknowledged that its 100% her fault. Hows work? I understood her to say she texted from her cell phone. Its especially challenging if youve grown up immersed in social media, where confidential emails with the names and sensitive details blacked out are frequently posted on Facebook or Twitter or someones blog, where they go viral. can you get fired for accidentally sending confidential information Sure but I think its highly unlikely that someone at OPs level would have access to that. UK government has fired people for looking up records of contestants on reality TV series, multiple times. Any of our PR folks would be immediately fired. I actually think your big mistake was telling your coworker, not telling a trusted friend.. Training in this area is important generally, but a communications/ PR person should not need to be reminded to keep sensitive information confidential thats a very basic aspect of the job. No! Even if you feel that way, definitely dont say that! I totally get how it can be really exciting to hear about cool things, and the impulse to tell the people close to you. I realize you want to minimize your mistake! Situations like this are one reason I think workplaces with confidential/sensitive information should regularly remind their employees of what confidentiality means for them, rather than leaving it as a blanket statement or only discussed during new employee training. Sorry if this sounds like nitpicking, Im only pushing because, as PollyQ said, if OP uses this as a reason and her former employer tells a prospective employer the reasons for her termination, it will appear that she was lying and make her look untrustworthy. @bent in my experience most companies view the data leaving their possession as the real concern, anything else is secondary. This was more or less what I was thinking. A federal appeals court recently addressed whether employees had standing to bring a lawsuit when their personally identifiable information (PII) was inadvertently circulated to other employees at the company, with no indication of misuse or external disclosure. But folks with strong confidentiality duties often dont disclose the confidential parts of the information to their trusted confidants or partners. You want to minimize this, and thats natural. Thats crazy (and crazy lucky for the embezzler).
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