On the weekend, I was sending a personal email to a friend. I was dismissed for a breach of confidentiality. It may be unfair to assume a journalist is cutthroat and would kill for a lead. Im sure the OP will find a new job. So you let the cat out of the bag about the cat your zoo bagged? The financial firm I worked for had mandatory quarterly compliance meetings with examples of Dont Be This Guy Because He Doesnt Work Here Anymore. Im just explaining that the information was likely a non-public record and not a confidential record. Dont fall for it. We just had something similar happen at my office last week. You might have to take a step back in your career to come back from it but you can you bounce back. Confidential information is meant to be confidential and not shared with anyone. Ive only had a very general idea of what my husband does since 2002, because he cant tell me. Period. I went to my boss explained the situation and let me boss make the decision if we wanted to share the report. For what its worth, one thing I noticed from your letter is language that sounds very social, discussing your trust in your friend, being ratted out by your mentor, not being given a second chance, and so on. We got walked through several juicy gossip or personal information scenarios during our orientation in an interactive way, so we could experience the kind of decision-making they wanted, and it was much more memorable. how do I tell employers I was fired for a video I put on YouTube? I thoughtlessly mentioned an embargoed announcement to a longtime friend in journalism before it was public. That doesnt mean you need to go into all the details or give a lengthy mea culpa, but you dont want to sound like youre minimizing it. Im not sure you can conclude that it was publically disclosable. Oh, this is all interesting, and I appreciate all the responses. And theyll be first with the story. It's a good idea to own it and let your management know. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? 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. My philosophy is that it doesnt matter what city you live in, its a small town. Just keep it to yourself or youll get fired. And thatsnot great? You can -and often should convey emotion in your official public statements. Well 1.) And if I tell anyone, including a coworker ,that I processed said claim, my butt could very well get in a lot of trouble. When you don't know the sender, but the email is clearly confidential and sensitive, things are little more complicated and you have a decision to make. I empathize, having both been in government service where the people can let the boundaries get too loose and, separately, had a career-breaking moment in a toxic workplace. 2) Multiple people is relevant, but its easy to misunderstand 3rd hand stories. Like, its so obviously wrong that people dont even talk about it. so that youre ready the next time it happens at your next job. You undertook those actions while working for (1) A Large Governmental Organization, who is answerable to Congress and to the general public for the actions undertaken by their employees, in the (2) Communications department, which is a department where employees will specifically, systematically, regularly be exposed to confidential information that should be kept confidential until such time as it is explicitly said to be something that can be shared publically. Id stay under a cloud of mistrust if that meant a steady paycheck if I didnt have anything else lined up. Accidents happen inadvertently but this is not the case here. If you feel uncomfortable about a work rule you are clearly violating, your coworkers are not going to be thrilled that you get them out there on the plank with you. This mixed with the coworkers inflated story, I would be more than annoyed by this coworker too. But heres the thing you still have to have a ton of discretion about how you share and where. All mom did was hand dad the phone. I supervise a manager who falsified an employee write-up but I dont think she should be fired. Even though I was only suspended for two weeks, it hurt so, so much. Tessian Cloud Email Security intelligently prevents advanced email threats and protects against data loss, to strengthen email security and build smarter security cultures in modern enterprises. How do I make amends and go about apologizing to former manager(s) after being dismissed for gross misconduct? He was employed elsewhere within a few weeks. If you are facing much trouble, look for job in domains where confidentiality is not too critical and the employer is not paranoid about it. Accept responsibility for what you did. When we make mistakes, they are impactful, but we're human and it happens. I am not falling on the sword or putting my job on the line for a coworker. But your processing of it has to be at one step removed. Nothing I said contradicts this. Or, heck, for all I know he didnt actually work on anything that interesting. How to get feedback on application rejections sent from a noreply mailbox, Is it bad to answer "Why/how did you get into that job" with "Because I just wanted a job". An employer of mine got a FOIA request where they asked for every email wed sent to anyone from any regulatory agency. The person whos emailed may have inadvertently caused a data breach, so it could be important you get in touch and let them know. This was a Friday. Same here (investing). You shouldnt be upset at your coworker, if anything she should be upset with you for putting her in that situation. 1) Slack vs text: doesnt matter. The issue of whether HIPAA information can be emailed is complicated. While it is possible the line could be actively tapped/monitored by someone else, even if it was an unsecured line it would be reasonable to assume the home phone number on file for GSAs dad would lead to the dad. I felt as defensive and upset as you. 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. Accidents do happen, we are all human but what rights you have if you share private company information by mistake really depends on a few things: the type of information that was accidentally distributed, how this impacted your company, and what the consequences were for you. You dont get a warning for things like that. I gossip too much, including at work. Wait, what the friend is a *journalist*?. Be careful. They fell prey to the Its just a quick peek and it wont hurt anybody fallacy. The initial complaint filed against Google is currently under seal because the judge has asked the bank to redact the Gmail account from its filings. I dont know whether you meant it this way, but the co-worker is not untrustworthy for reporting this. Breach of confidentiality can be described as an act of gross misconduct, so deal with issues that arise in a timely manner, in line with your procedures and look at any previous cases to ensure fairness and consistency. Because, if you did the first apology option then I think it would be (more) possible youd get a 2nd chance. People do stupid or extreme things all the time; their lives dont end, but they *can* be turning points for a downward spiral. 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. Reporting misconduct is the right thing to do, and thats how an interviewer is going to see it. my boss read my Skype conversations, parental involvement with employees under 18, and more, my manager and coworker are secretly dating, boss will never give exceeds expectations because he has high standards, and more, update: I supervise a manager who falsified an employee write-up but I dont think she should be fired, stolen sandwiches, disgusting fridges, dish-washing drama: lets talk about office kitchen mayhem, interviewer scolded me for my outfit, job requires an oath of allegiance, and more, update: a DNA test revealed the CEO is my half brother and hes freaking out, my entry-level employee gave me a bunch of off-base criticism. Even there, be very sure the person youre talking to has the same access you do. Businesses have a term for that kind of behaviour, and that is 'data leakage'. 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. An in-person meeting might be more appropriate if you accidentally sent information about your plans to find another job to your manager. Or, maybe they totally overreacted, who knows its impossible to say from here. Sometimes they go so far as tell the bearer of the news that they now have to soothe them bc its their fault they feel bad. When they took the only course of action they could have taken and still kept their job and notified your employer of your actions, you became defensive of your actions. If you cant keep your mouth shut then you need a new line of work. Its also possible that the way you talked to your boss about it cost you a second chance too- if you were anything other than mortified and taking 100% responsibility, they likely thought it wasnt worth trusting you again. She would ask every rep if they were using TEAPOT o service accounts, and would proudly exclaim, My daughter built TEAPOT! She thought she was connecting with the people who helped her. Which is so far beyond the truth Im honestly wondering if this coworker had it out for me the whole time. It is not clear at this stage whether the 911 caller will be pursuing a civil claim for damages as a result of the privacy violation. People find new jobs after being fired all the time. While I was working there, I started dating an entertainment journalist who then covered some Marvel projects, and there were definitely things that happened at work which I did not share with him because of my NDA. Even if you trust her 100%, she is still too high risk. For most cases in the US, I'd expect it to be legal. On the non-security side of things its fascinating to learn what the folks in the booth behind me are working on as Im quietly eating lunch, but its a serious security violation to discuss that kind of thing in public and it makes me cringe so hard when it happens. ), Im guessing it was something more like: (I mean, I think its a great program, but Im realistic about things lol.) "Yes, humor in the workplace is a fabulously invaluable thing that any workplace can benefit greatly from, but when your colleagues already feel buried under a pile of never-ending emails, adding. 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. But if youre singling people out, or only using it in the context of chastising someone, then yeah, for sure condescending and rude. Thats not really a response to the OP but more a pushback on some the comments. Well, you certainly can do that, but its one hell of a risk, and a continuation of poor ethics. Changing how you feel (as opposed to what you say or do or think) is not something you need to do to solve the problem. can you get fired for accidentally sending confidential information ninkondi prime stance 3d parallax background mod apk latest version take me to st ives cambridgeshire can you get fired for accidentally sending confidential information. And honestly, you broke an embargo for your own company. So I guess maybe it is a generational thing? this is one of the reasons why its best to have a mentor who is NOT at the same company as you. Screw-ups happen. Especially odd because LW emphasized how trustworthy the friend is for why the friend wouldnt blab. I dont even share work release information (good or bad) early with my spouse. The mistake may not have been trusting the friend with that information, but it was definitely telling her. (For your job search, this might be obvious, but steer clear of medical, legal, PR, or any other field that deals with privacy.). As others mentioned, the breach is possibly a fire on first offense potential, but since they fired you after investigating slack that makes me wonder if you had too casual and friendly of chats with the journalists whose job it was for you to talk with. OOPS! (Many of these claims have to be handled by specialists who have security clearance, but not all of them.). Upon further investigation, the supervisor discovers that the employee has asked other employees to also send Company documents to her personal e-mail address. Yikes. This is probably not a feasible strategy, unless the OP was at the job for only a few months. Check out this article on that HERE. Im not sure whether this is something they can move on from or not, but they absolutely need to get themselves out of the mindset that their coworker ratted on them, because thinking that reporting things like that is tattling and childish is how corruption grows. This type of thing could have easily happened to your journalism friend in the office. Oh no! I was under the impression that most big companies had a policy against telling a reference checker anything beyond dates of employment. Resist the temptation to gossip about fellow employees and don't express your disdain for your. a coworker at my company was discussing a future potential release at a bar loud enough that someone heard it, and then posted it on a public forum. Good luck to you I think Allisons advice for answering questions about this experience is spot on. . It was spur of the moment and, as soon as I realized what Id done I circled back to her to clarify that that information was confidential. The person is trying to make someone else feel bad about their own transgressions. Even if this person had not turned her in, there was this bomb just sitting there waiting to go off. Obviously telling the friend was the fireable offense here, Im not arguing that. I was coming to the comments section to say the same thing. You wrote, The only reason I got fired was because I was ratted out by a coworker for a victimless mistake and was fired unfairly. But you werent fired because your coworker reported you; you were fired because you broke a serious rule. This seems like a no-brainer to just not do, and if you did, certainly not to tell someone at work that you did this. Alison, I really liked your advice, because it can apply to any situation where the person has truly done something egregious but has to move on. Find somewhere else to tell it in order to release the steam valve. And Im happy to report that I have never shared that news (still remember it bcs this was so hard that first time!). Let me tell you what happened to the people who were not on the care team and accessed a newsworthy medical case. OP has been mature about admitting fault, lets not undermine that by implying it was no big deal. Doesnt matter if it was a friend. Learn that about yourself, and move on. LW used Slack at work (and was not supposed to) I have absolutely no clue in your situation, but there are times when it really can be appropriate to let someone go without any second chances. Third, with bright line rules, we cannot adopt situational ethics where its ok to disclose to close-trusted-journalist-friend because we trust them. Back in the dinosaur era (early 80s) the directors secretary was the only one tasked with typing up yearly evaluations on high-level staff. Yeah, I wish the mentor had walked the LW directly to the boss to discuss this openly. They must always assume the worst case anyway. I can't remember the details, but there was a point about the fact the word "confidential" added in every e-mail by such a notice wasn't actually helpful, since tools that looked for the word confidential were flagging everything up, including a large number of false positives. Your second co-worker who sexually harassed a woman was put on a PIP? Don't worry, you're not alone. and sent to multiple people (!!)? If *you* got that carried away, you cant guarantee that she wont, either. As a fellow human being, I absolutely get the impulse to tell someone about something! Its not great, but some breaches really are that serious, and employers cant always be like the library giving amnesty for late fees if people bring the books back. but to start the process of damage control. I cant say any details yet, but needed to share my excitement!!. She IS a rat! Unless this job was the bulk of your experience, I would leave it off your resume. I agree with you! Is there a solution to add special characters from software and how to do it. ! but you just cant. But at the end of the day, the reputational risk to my company, versus the relatively low-level risk of having to replace someone entry-level, was just too great to bear. I just wasn't thinking at the moment I sent the information. Like I said, very strange but its worked for me. They made much more money off of the JK Rowling name. It will get out, eventually. Share information about the new roller coaster being put in at a theme park? I am in this place when I read OPs response. Nothing dangerous, and while I was there it honestly wasnt even anything that would be a big scoop or exciting dinner party story. Organisations can set up static rules (for example, you can send emails to business A but not business B), but these traditional methods are rigid and unreliable. But how do I explain this story to future employers? Yeah just assume that for the next few years youre out of the running for jobs that require a confidentiality. As far as I know, he held the highest security clearance a civilian could have. 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. My company is not going to jeopardize a $500M/yr contract over my mouth.