Advising on employee misconduct, discipline, and legal liability following a corporate internal investigation

After allegations arose within a company that employees had abused their access to information systems, violated personal information protections, and engaged in workplace harassment, we provided comprehensive legal advice, based on the results of the internal investigation, on discipline of the employees involved and the company's legal liability.

The key issues were whether it was unlawful to use system administrator privileges granted for work to view internal messenger conversations without authorization, the criminal liability of the employees involved, and the company's civil and criminal liability.

We also reviewed whether the workplace harassment investigation had been conducted properly, whether the grounds for discipline and the level of discipline for each employee were justified, and data privacy issues in any further investigation.

We analyzed the results of the internal investigation, the company's internal rules, and the relevant statutes and case law to review each employee's legal liability for misconduct and the possibility of discipline.

In particular, we analyzed criminal liability for abuse of access to information systems and whether employer liability and the dual liability provisions (which also punish the employer) could apply to the company, and reviewed the legal risks and potential for future disputes at each level of discipline.

We also reviewed the lawfulness of further investigation using internal messenger and server records, and how to secure evidence.

We provided a comprehensive legal opinion distinguishing the legal liability and possible discipline of the employees involved, and analyzing the company's civil and criminal exposure and its data privacy risks.

On that basis, we recommended how to determine appropriate levels of discipline, supplement the investigation procedures, and prepare for future disputes.