Leaking information can actually be the right thing in some cases. I hope youre able to learn and move on from this, OP. This is NOT a myob type situation at all. That being said, it doesnt change the fact that OP shouldnt have done it anyway, so harboring ill will towards this coworker is pointless. I would absolutely be fired for checking out things for curiosity, I only have access in the first place so I can see whether people are currently clocked in (if you change their access to something while they are actively using it, odd things happen, so I need to check to see if they clocked in that day before I begin). Agreed. LW used Slack at work (and was not supposed to) It doesnt matter if your friend is a journalist or not; thats a total red herring. Our newspapers report quite frequently on gossip of whats happening behind the scenes. Is it possible to rotate a window 90 degrees if it has the same length and width? Perhaps the email was intended for a client in which case the clients data is at risk and the sender has inadvertently committed a data leak. You say that the information eventually became public, and you seem to think that this mitigates the problem. Yet, the subordinates were not pleased! I doubt she is the only person that has ever done anything like this. you get to a point where you just really really need to share. I tell my team that if it leaks from us, they cannot work here. Of course. These comments seem harsh for the most part. Does your company know she could have called the police? Possible scripting adjustment: I mistakenly shared some non-public information with a friend outside the agency before it was officially released to the public. A statement added: 'Irish Ferries crews train regularly to deal with incidents at sea, and the company has put its training into action and the fire has been extinguished. In the US, sexual harassment wont merit a police response. Not so here because what she did was wrong, just not quite as bad as the misunderstood version. Based on the post its probably public now, so I would guess its likely not too exciting. And Im pointing out that it wasnt a record at all. Including their reputation being damaged. My adviser listened to what was going on and was like we have to tell. In fact, if you are being sent overseas, you have to take a special counterintelligence training before you go that includes tips like dont wear items with your agencys name written on them while you travel and never park next to a panel van.. Yes, own it. I think people beat themselves up enough internally without us having to do it for them most of the time. This is a bad enough screw-up that I would be contemplating a career change, or at least a pivot to an area of communications where things like confidential information and media embargoes arent ever a factor. Or it could be about a broader picture like if youd had performance issues or other problems that made it easier for them to decide to just part ways. Itd be much safer for the LW to ask HR what theyre going to say to other employers asking for references. Don't be me, is what I'm saying I guess! But Im a journalist whos covered federal agencies, so I know super exciting to agency employees does not necessarily equal huge news for everyone else. One piece of information I learned (that has since been announced publicly, but hadnt been at the time) was SO EXCITING that in a weak moment, I texted one friend about it in celebration. Its not about breaking a rule, its about potentially causing some serious issues by leaking information. Once you told your coworker, you dragged her out there on the plank with you. They looked at themselves as an organization and realized that the damage was irrevocable. She already got that advice from Alison. It can, should, and does happen, depending on the details of what all happened. I always assumed the phrase meant no feelings are incorrect, and it made a lot less sense than the way youve laid it out! I understand the issue had to be reported, but why this way ? If there was no record, then there is no possible sanction under FOIA or sunshine law (because that only pertains to records). I dont know if it was to avoid track-covering or to prevent retaliation, but that was a specific part of the procedure. I was new, too eager to please, naive and I let the client rush me instead of following established protocol. They did exactly the right thing to you. People tend to share with trusted confidants/partners/etc. 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?. As I said below, that may be why you werent given a second chance. Age is hardly an indicator of a persons ability to consistently make the best choices at all times. The coworker did the right thing. Contact the GDPR manager at once. The letter writer came here and owned up to what she did and said she knows now it was her fault what do you want her to do, throw herself on a sword? They can only control what their employees do, and thats why they have those rules, and not much leeway for people who dont adhere to them. Agree with this. I guess you just say I inadvertently let an important piece of information get out and I will take extraordinary safeguards to never let that happen again. Clearly yall do not understand handling confidential information. Lose that part of the defense completely, OP. Absolutely this. She shared *exciting* embargoed information. The consequences are serious and could have legal implications if youre representing a government or publicly traded company. "I made a dumb mistake and misjudged the sensitivity of some data" is both more accurate and less severe. Im still pretty upset that I had no second chance, but I suppose I just lost their trust. Once you realize that you are likely on the road to employment termination, you need to know that there are options: Responding To The Red Flags. First, you need to be able to frame what you did for yourself. A very long-term employee who did excellent work, as a joke, made up a fake news release that indicated we got the contract. NEVER by email unless explicitly given the go-ahead). Is anyone else dying to know what the information was? Leaking to the press can come with criminal penalties and you need to be very careful with how you report illegal/dangerous information for your own protection. 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. This is a very astute comment, especially your last paragraph. +10. Its not their call. Ive been in the position of having the relevant information, and even if its hard, you just cant tell your journalist friends unless youre okay with them using it: its what they do, and its not fair to ask them not to. (Drunk driving is an extreme example of this. Where I work, I cannot legally share information about very exciting things that are happening/about to happen. I was coming to the comments section to say the same thing. Separately, when you share, you have to still be oblique enough to not get yourself in trouble. As a damage control, should I (as the manager responsible) send a message to all employees explaining what occurred and asking them to respect the confidentiality of the information and not open nor forward the information to anyone else or should I just not bring additional attention to this message? You've learned from this mistake and had no malicious intent. Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. It may help in your next position to transpose your thinking around these things a bit. Every employer Ive worked for (finance) has done annual or semi-annual privacy/information security trainings, and while theyre tiresome for some of us, theyre certainly helpful in continually reinforcing hey, this is a very very very very very big mcf**king deal. So, thats to say that I *completely* get the idea that at some point, you get to a point where you just really really need to share. And by becoming the must fanatically trustworthy discreet person. All three have kept their mouths shut, at least to the best of my knowledge, and I can talk it over without worrying that I will cause a problem with my disclosing. +100 to this. The employer has a policy against this and everyone working there has signed that they read the policy. Its not a victimless crime and you have to understand the seriousness of what you did, even unintentionally. This is a tough lesson to learn. In fact, if I ever got a query from someone I knew, I was required to hand off the query to a colleague. Like X candidate is running for president!. But it sounds like it doesnt really matter that HR jumbled the details because neither was a permitted thing to do anyway. It simply means that your employees are not to disclose proprietary information or data about your company to another person without your consent. "It is likely not private if the employee used the employer . I think one can be upset at not getting a second chance without feeling necessarily entitled to one. You texted proprietary information to a journalist. Lack of integrity. Weve all made mistakes. 4a) Coworker did not owe (and usually would be discouraged from giving) notification to the OP. Also to prevent someone who might be a bit dangerous, from hurting you. I felt as defensive and upset as you. Dan is such a pain! They might try to use silence to get you to say more. But unfortunately, the rules of your job are such that you justcant. If you say, My coworker ratted me out, an interviewer hears, My coworker reported my misconduct. Youre the one who comes off looking poorly there, not the coworker. And I did use Slack on my work computer, and I did interact professionally with some journalists who covered my area over Slack. LW is undisciplined and has a big mouth. I think that is also part of the lesson that OP needs to learn. Your employer lost control of this information, even in a very small way, and thats a big deal. It may be that the decision is made and it is just a matter of time before you are gone. This technique requires extra steps, but it . How do I explain to those potential future employers that the only reason I got fired was because I was ratted out by a coworker for a victimless mistake and was fired unfairly, without sounding defensive? Yes, you can get fired for opening a phishing email. The company would have thought everything was hunky dory, but they would have employee on staff who did not understand confidentially requirements. LW, we are all human. (Also the NASA leaker didnt get fired. Personal info is never OK to share with anyone, or things that could lead to recognizing a person if someone happens to know that person (and you never know who knows who). It goes through a game of telephone and the person at the end of the line gets mad that the first person would say such a thing. Obviously telling the friend was the fireable offense here, Im not arguing that. I know that I messed up and I shouldnt have told anyone; in a moment of weakness I texted one of my best friends. I am trying not to be too harsh but yes you screwed up. The mistake was breaking company policy not that they announced to a coworker they broke company policy. Challenge them directly and be sure that when they say it's okay to start at 9.30am, make sure they actually mean it, or don't do it. The information was work i was working on at the moment and I emailed it as I needed to do work on my personal laptop ; I couldn't take my work station away whilst on extended leave overseas. Best of luck in your next job! So, are you clear about the severity of your action and the significance of this rule? 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). Since you touched on it in your follow-up, OP, dont look at this as not getting a second chance. You are its just going to happen at another organization. should I tell my coworker about our colleagues criminal record, I deeply regret joining my companys leadership program, and more, my company is cutting my overworked teams pay as punishment for mistakes. Accept the responsibility for your actions and it will make life a lot easier going forward. It has to be violent sexual assault before theyll even consider responding. Even though he loves the MCU and would have enjoyed the anecdotes. Taking a quick peek at someones medical records just out of curiosity? OP came to her, she felt guilty, they apparently talked about this a bit, so why not tell her that this cant be kept secret and she has to come forward to her boss ? But imagine you are the government and someone leaked information. Or does it only matter that I broke a rule?, For #1, Youre certainly allowed to bring up anything you want in an interview, the question you should really be asking is, Will it help or hurt my candidacy to bring this up?. If OP had confessed to their manager, it would make sense for the manager to say, I have to report this to such-and-such, but the coworker was right not to warn OP. Ive represented or advised friends, friends of friends and the occasional famous person, and nobody else knows anything about it nor will they ever. This is especially true if the employee in question signed a confidentiality agreement prior to starting the job. Because they turned out to not be trustworthy. But at the end of the day, Alison is right. You may not even realise your mistake until the person you meant to send the message to says they didn't receive it (or you have a flurry of missed phone calls, as in Serena Williams . I gossip too much, including at work. I was under the impression that most big companies had a policy against telling a reference checker anything beyond dates of employment. 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. Look the UK Foreign Office is currently knee deep in a police investigation into information thats been leaked to journalists and the consequences are potentially extremely serious. My guess is thats where some of the defensiveness in the initial letter comes from that no one would have known if not for the self-report. I dont think we fired anyone but the need for absolute confidentiality was reiterated. If you find a colleague has breached confidentiality like this, procedures are typically clear that you DO NOT approach them yourself. In a professional context, close friendships and personal trust arent always as ironclad as they can be in personal relationships, particularly when it comes to security and confidentiality. She would have learned a valuable lesson and still kept her job. Yep, I think its worth LW remembering that while she knew shed never leak anything again, her boss and co-workers dont. Yes! Be careful. Its no fun to be fired. That the information eventually became public is not in any way relevant. Im not sure you can conclude that it was publically disclosable. A true 100% owning of what you did. Some things a company wouldnt want you to tell a competitor, but wouldnt mind if you told your spouse. You can bet Id be gone with no second chance despite my almost-20-years and ton of good work. This comment comes across as quite clueless I work for a government entity where nonpublic information often affects peoples day-to-day lives and pocketbooks and people put a lot of money (lobbying) into knowing whats happening. I know it isnt the actual incident since the details dont match (no twitter or cake pictures mentioned in OPs case), but I was assuming it was something like the NASA gravitational waves thing. Lack of impulse control. So I guess maybe it is a generational thing? This. Specifics dont matter, but to me, being able to explain you told your friend your employer was about to buy this farm to build a park so they bought the farm so they could raise the price and make a profit would make a huge difference in terms of making the OP aware of the consequences of their actions. And even more so in ballistic missile submarines! And then THAT person got so excited that they just had to tell someone Each person thinks theyre only telling one other person, and that they can trust that person. I completely agree that in the long run, this was a kindness. If you werent human, you wouldnt make mistakes. It can take down evil people who mean to do others harm. It should go without saying: a breach of confidentiality could and would wind up in a bar complaint in my jurisdiction. Everyone messes up. At some workplaces, the hiring process includes security checks that even go into your social media profile, blogs, etc, to see whether your personal communications display a suitable level of discretion. I mean, yeah, absolutely! Agreed. Sometimes when we receive an email meant for someone else, its just spam. 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). By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. +1 on the choice of language and framing. In other words, this whole line of discussion is moot. My company is not going to jeopardize a $500M/yr contract over my mouth. People leak or share things to journalists they know all the time, with agreements by those journalists on how to share it. You violated your contract so your previous employer had little choice but to let you go - your new employer will understand this but if you show them you've accepted responsibility for it and will make sure never to do that again then I think you've got a good chance of getting another position. The Workplace Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for members of the workforce navigating the professional setting. Later the coworker left the company and at company B was asked to write a similar report for the new company. Compare someone in law enforcement happening to find out the (secret) address and phone number of their friend-groups favorite celebrity, or finding the contact information for the cutie in the convertible, after their roommate catches the license plate numberand sharing. Ratted me out annoys me too, because it just means that someone told the truth and wouldnt cover for your lie. Everything the OP described sounds like a non-public record. OP has a right to be annoyed with Coworker, but Coworker was doing her job as well. I was kinda thinking that an otherwise level headed and calm employee wouldnt punch a colleague unless the other guy had been doing something truly egregious. Im a journalist, so, yes. I think she got paid in sandwiches and the knowledge she was the only woman to neck with Nero Wolfe, though. An employer of mine got a FOIA request where they asked for every email wed sent to anyone from any regulatory agency. I am a govt worker in NY. Thank you. But even the first is really really, really bad. The letter makes it look like you only told one person out of turn, but actually you told two people. Id stay under a cloud of mistrust if that meant a steady paycheck if I didnt have anything else lined up. Thats crazy (and crazy lucky for the embezzler). TootsNYC is talking about this latter case. Fired. about your coworker reporting you, betrayed and hard done by, is the way your employer feels about you. Right? Why is there a voltage on my HDMI and coaxial cables? Unfortunately, someone did leak the info so all the employees read about the information in a major business news website AND the local newspaper the night before the event despite the intention for the employees to hear the news firsthand at the event before it was released to the public. If you go in there going "my. Candidate must then come up with a good reason why former employer wont re-hire given they merely eliminated the position. OP I dont want to pile on, many people have made the point that this would be a very big deal in many industries, and that your coworker was not responsible for your being fired, and indeed may have been obligated to report the violation. This is essential to sanction the employee and also send out a clear . No checking out salary information permitted! I went to my boss explained the situation and let me boss make the decision if we wanted to share the report. But if you act that way about a mistake at a previous job, I think people might worry about the same behavior in the future. This is one reason why I could only ever give a vague explanation of what my dad did. Im not going to tell them about it, unless it actually falls out that I end up being the person who is put in charge of telling them their thing is done. Concepts like snitching, tattling, and ratting out dont apply in the workplace. But I dont think this applies in any case since it was on her personal cell. Libel or slander or posting comments about individuals that are not related to your work environment are not protected. She just needs to learn discretion. 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. She has to protect her job and reputation as well in the end, she shouldnt have to risk her own job stability due to your choices! Moving forward, the best way to handle it is be honest. If you cant maintain confidentiality, you can work elsewhere. Yeah, thats a good point. That brings us to your questions. At the time, I thought it would be ok since it wouldnt cause a problem, but I realize it was not up to me to make that judgement. would be frustrating if she had a good relationship with them, or if she cared a lot about the reputation of her publication as a whole. In a truly dangerous/vital public information sphere there are agency heads/regulators/IG offices/congressional members/even the police depending on the issue that you should contact before going to the press. We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. At the risk exposing my identity to a reader who knows me offline, two big things Ive leaked without running afoul of any organizational trust are: Such and such church is giving away their building and my nonprofit is under consideration to be the recipient and Were going to be filing a lawsuit against X because of Y., To clarify, Im not trying to minimize the gravity of OPs mistake or the seriousness of strict confidentiality in other contexts. Its to prevent covering of tracks or retaliation or extinction bursts (Im about to be caught for X may as well make the punishment worthwhile and do Y and Z too, or if they are acting with deliberate malign intent Im caught, better leak as much as possible asap). But I cant talk about the specifics of that scene. The reason all this info is locked down tightly is so that they can control the message when it goes out. confusedabouteverything Forumite. Even if the coworker had malicious intentions, they were following privacy laws and regulations. But I had a boss who always used to try to cover his ass 110%. Interpretations, justifications, conceptualizations can also be wrong, surely. Once youve actually done the thing, its out there. The hospital I was working for last year had the best of this kind of presentation that Ive ever seen. You may want to target less security-sensitive industries or environments until you've worked up enough of a resume after this event to show that you're reliable. I was often privy to non-public information because I was designing media campaigns around them. The answer hinges in part on what constitutes truly private communication, says Christine Walters, an independent consultant with FiveL Company and author of Helping Leaders Limit their Liability by Learning the Law. Not just confidential, but confidential from *journalists*!! OPs best bet is to stop blaming their coworker or minimizing what happened. I now work somewhere where I have access to sensitive information, including my own. And this will definitely have an effect on how you come across to people interviewing you in future. This is a solvable problem. Sometimes the news is a dreadful burden to bear (staff reductions of people you know, elimination of services you think are important) and sometimes the news is exciting, you have the inside scoop and cant wait to share it. Even when it doesnt require them to report it, it still could have consequences they dont want to be a part of! I think the wider point is that anyone can make that mistake at any age, and speculating about this part of it is irrelevant and not helpful.
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