The right thing to do is to find another way to go about this, with privacy rights and company theft I am thinking it could be a problem, does he really need to have this on top of everything else?

medc is correct on this.


You are breaking the law.

As an employee of such a public institution, there are laws against entering email accounts of the employees of university employees. These accounts may contain protected information which contain private or even classified documentats which are security or clearance coded.

I know this, because I have such an account as an employee.

My own work email account contains numerous emails regarding people's information which cannot be shared with just "anybody", including even many of the ADMINISTRATORS of the email accounts or many of the bosses at work.

So, by breaking into her work email, you may have violated state or federal laws.

If my husband were to break into my work email, he would be in violation of HIPPA, for example, to name just one federal act. Also, IDEA, ADA, Buckley, and other amendments.


If the university were to get wind of it, and if they were of a mind to go after you, they could really pour it on. If just one person whose name was mentioned in one of those emails whose privacy was violated found out.........well........they would have a civil rights lawsuit against both you and the university.


So, yeah, you've broken a law or two.

At this point, ADMIT NOTHING. It is the best course of action, because if this thing goes south with your wife and she gets really mad, she could make very big trouble for you.


SB

Is this a public University? Because if it is, then the email system is paid for by tax payers. Thus, ANY email sent on a tax payer system is public record. Any member of the public can request copies of any emails and get them.

And, using public emails for personal reasons can get someone fired. This includes k-12 schools, universities, and government offices.

I teach at a public school and we are reminded frequently about the content of our email. It's more about not sharing too much info about our students since those emails can be requested under public disclosure laws.

A local community college teacher lost his job for sending some emails about an outside business that he was starting (a restaurant) from his college email. Since he used public school email, he was fired.

Getting into her email account may be illegal, but requesting emails through the proper channels isn't.

ok then I pay taxes at the local high school right? I can go into the lockers there? all their file cabinets? anything?
not trying to be smart, where is the line drawn?

technically, i guess my WW would be classified as a student. she is a post doctoral research fellow who takes classes, does research and receives a stipend, so she is technically not an employee of the university.

The university is a public institution.

Also, i doubt my WW or the OM would have any sort of legal case against me if they wished to pursue it. They do not own the email, so they have no expectation of privacy. The university could press charges i guess, but nothing my WW deals with is classified or anything like that, it is all publicly funded research, so probably not worth it to them. But like most people said, proving that i logged into the email would be difficult to prove. In a case of he said she said, nothing would probably happen, i hope....

doingfine-

As far as I know, the line is drawn on public use of something that is financed by tax payers-that does not contain personal property (such as a locker)or private information that would fall under the HIPA or FERPA laws and has an agreement signed by the users that they know the communication they are using is publicly financed and is therefore open to public disclosure laws. Students and their parents sign these forms (often called "Acceptable use" forms) in order to use the internet and email accounts that are provided by the school.

Even as a grad student-the emails fall under the public disclosure laws. She receives a stipend because her research contributes to the university which makes her an "employee" or contractor with the school. Those university emails are still open to public disclosure laws.

J, I gotta say that makes sense.

I am so on the side of the BS, I want him to find out all he can and have as much proof and kick both their [censored]'s and come out of this as best as he can. I would just hate to see added stress with legalities, but you explained it very well, and if thats the case then.....

This is untrue. Emails can and do have protected information.

This poster is clearly breaking the law and clouding up the waters with fuzzy information is nothing more than a distraction.

I agree. Perhaps you can go to the university with your suspisions and that will be enough for them to start their own investigation and find the e-mails themselves. If they want a reason why you think somethings going on give them something else, like phone calls at strange times or secret meetings.
Have you exposed at all? Maybe you could go to OM's BS and enlist her help with pressuring the university for an investigation. I would not tell her about the e-mails either though.
If nothing else, WW and OM may catch wind of something going on and switch to private e-mail accounts...

i have already exposed to my WW's mother and her sisters and the OM's W. OM's W seems to be in denial because from the emails, it doesn't appear that she is keeping nearly as close of an eye on her WH as I am on my WW. Since i exposed, they have stopped texting and calling each other using their cell phones, so the only thing i have left is email.

I have sent the OM's W a few emails since I initially told her of the affair, but she has not responded to any of them. I don't think she will be any help in exposing to the university because they just moved into a bigger house and the financial implications of the university finding out would probably push her to tell her H what i was thinking about doing, especially since she seems to be in denial. I have sent her links to this site, but i doubt she came here. If she had, she would probably wake up.

You may be in violation of the law. As a practical matter, as far as criminal prosecution goes, I rather doubt the state or feds would bother with this. And, if you were prosecuted, you might get a slap on the wrist.
As far as civil liability, not much in the way of damages.
I'd still steer clear of the e-mails. You have all you need.