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Google illegally spied on workers before firing them, US labor board alleges

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Re: Google illegally spied on workers before firing them, US labor board alleges

#91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% agree. People laugh at me why I carry two phones but this is the main reason. If my employer needs me to have a mobile phone they are paying for separate device and plan. It’s a little silly I need to carry 2 phones around but it makes my life so much more convenient. Unknown call on my work phone guess I’ll answer. If it’s on my personal then it’s spam. Leave company, no need to update or port my number. Want t…

With android work profiles I don't think it's that big a deal. It's isolated from my phone, my employer can't see anything outside the profile and I just disable it on weekends/vacations.

> With android work profiles I don't think it's that big a deal.

It's not a big deal... until it is. Like when your boss/coworker gets involved in a work dispute and you get dragged into a deposition.

Re: Google illegally spied on workers before firing them, US labor board alleges

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With android work profiles I don't think it's that big a deal. It's isolated from my phone, my employer can't see anything outside the profile and I just disable it on weekends/vacations.

> With android work profiles I don't think it's that big a deal. It's not a big deal... until it is. Like when your boss/coworker gets involved in a work dispute and you get dragged into a deposition.

You misunderstood - Android Work profile doesn't allow the employer to access any of your personal information. It keeps work and personal things separate by a wall.

iOS doesn't allow that however - there the Apple will give everything over to employer if they so ask.

Re: Google illegally spied on workers before firing them, US labor board alleges

#93
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if she instead put "Nobody has the right to enter this country illegally" it would be fine because she's just restating the law?

"Entering the country illegally is illegal" is restating the law. Such a statement would likely take on more meaning given the context in which it was said. "Nobody has the right to ..." is your opinion.

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Re: Google illegally spied on workers before firing them, US labor board alleges

#94
post #40

One thing that happens in SV is: * Employer says "hey, we have all these convenient corporate app, wouldn't it be nice to be able to check work messages and work docs on your mobile? Just install our app to "corp-ify" your phone" * Employer now views your mobile device as containing sensitive company IP and therefore they have the right to snoop on anything on your phone. If you install corp on your phone, Google vie…

Does it flag me as an old that the last thing on earth I want to do is check work messages/docs from my phone? There's a concept of 'checking out for the day and going home' that's important to not going crazy, especially now. If something goes wrong, or there's an emergency, folks have a number they can text/call. But constantly check messages? No way.

Maybe I'm old too.

I used to keep work email and calendar on my personal phone. A few years later, I disabled the email because it distracted from life. I leave the calendar simply to let me know when I have an early meeting (my day normally begins at 9, but work with teams in India, so occasionally have earlier meetings).

Re: Google illegally spied on workers before firing them, US labor board alleges

#95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Entering the country illegally is illegal" is restating the law. Such a statement would likely take on more meaning given the context in which it was said. "Nobody has the right to ..." is your opinion.

Well, "nobody has the legal right to..." is restating. And to me, the "legal" is rather obviously implied.

I don't agree the implication is obvious at all. Interpreting it that way make it a total truism - nonsensical unless interpreted within a greater context.

And it looks to me that's just what the GP poster was trying to do - challenge others to argue with a truism while pretending that the context in which it was stated isn't relevant.

Re: Google illegally spied on workers before firing them, US labor board alleges

#96
post #34

>Spiers was fired after she created a pop-up for Google employees visiting the IRI Consultants website. “Googlers have the right to participate in protected concerted activities,” the notification read I remember that case. Yeah - she deserved to be fired. She used an internal security tool to push her personal political views. How could that not be a fire-able offense?

I don't think it's so black and white: the "security tool" is a chrome extension for sending notices to employees about the site they are visiting. An analogous situation seems like if the company had a big cork board for safety/security messages and someone posted a paper with that sentence on it next to something the company posted that was perceived as anti-union. It's unclear to me if that other scenario is prote…

Presumably in this scenario the employee was one of a small group of people that was responsible for maintaining the cork board, and used it for their political beliefs

Re: Google illegally spied on workers before firing them, US labor board alleges

#97
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> With android work profiles I don't think it's that big a deal. It's not a big deal... until it is. Like when your boss/coworker gets involved in a work dispute and you get dragged into a deposition.

You misunderstood - Android Work profile doesn't allow the employer to access any of your personal information. It keeps work and personal things separate by a wall. iOS doesn't allow that however - there the Apple will give everything over to employer if they so ask.

No, I don't misunderstand. A deposition won't care whether things are separated by a software wall. A deposition will want everything on the device. So it's better to just not mix the two at all.

Re: Google illegally spied on workers before firing them, US labor board alleges

#98
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, my last two employers have been similar. And given the requirements, both provide company phones. I run into coworkers who then decide to use the company phone as their only phone, because the company phone is usually the top of the line iPhone or Samsung Galaxy replaced every 2 years when their personal phone otherwise is some mid range Android or 2+ year old iPhone. Even when pointed out that the company can w…

> Even when pointed out that the company can wipe it when they leave If someone intends to leave, they can first revoke the company's access to their phone.

Not if it was set up with corporate deployment methods. Look into what Apple MDM is capable of on an iPhone, for instance.

Re: Google illegally spied on workers before firing them, US labor board alleges

#99
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At my company, in order to get access to the corporate email and such on your phone, they require you to install their app on the phone. Then you're required to sign a document acknowledging that when you leave the company they will remotely wipe your phone, including all of your personal apps, documents, photos, etc. Mixing personal and work hardware is never a good idea.

Yes, my last two employers have been similar. And given the requirements, both provide company phones. I run into coworkers who then decide to use the company phone as their only phone, because the company phone is usually the top of the line iPhone or Samsung Galaxy replaced every 2 years when their personal phone otherwise is some mid range Android or 2+ year old iPhone. Even when pointed out that the company can w…

I personally keep separate devices, but I understand the idea of only having the employer-provided phone. All of our important data is in the cloud on Google or Apple's servers. Your pictures, messages, emails, and everything else are off-site. It doesn't matter if the company wipes your phone since there's nothing on it other than thin-client apps.

Re: Google illegally spied on workers before firing them, US labor board alleges

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it flag me as an old that the last thing on earth I want to do is check work messages/docs from my phone? There's a concept of 'checking out for the day and going home' that's important to not going crazy, especially now. If something goes wrong, or there's an emergency, folks have a number they can text/call. But constantly check messages? No way.

Maybe I'm old too. I used to keep work email and calendar on my personal phone. A few years later, I disabled the email because it distracted from life. I leave the calendar simply to let me know when I have an early meeting (my day normally begins at 9, but work with teams in India, so occasionally have earlier meetings).

That's my point of view. I definitely want the information available on my phone, but I never want it to interrupt me. Even if I get a slack message during the day, for example. To me, part of getting older is the more frequent "was that meeting tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn or the day after tomorrow..." and I don't want to go check my laptop. ;)
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