can you get fired for accidentally sending confidential information can you get fired for accidentally sending confidential information

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. 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! Was the friend a journalist, or is there something else that would explain why she said that? The reply: Yes, the friend I texted happened to be a journalist but doesnt cover the area that I was working in. It pretty much doesnt matter what field you are in the higher up you go the more likely you are to be privy to information that you MUST NOT share no matter how excited you may be. Absolutely! True story: in my last job someone mistyped an email address by a single letter and instead of going to a related government org it went to a journalist. You cant let yourself act out of emotion. I do have to wonder if the hospital failed to educate its employees on how freaking serious that kind of breach was, although Id still put the failure on the feet of the violators. You are fortunate to get the opportunity to learn it early when it hasnt resulted in severe long term consequences. OP, I join Alison in wishing you the very best of luck! My only other advice is to consider if there were any conversations on slack that were inappropriate. Was this alone enough to be fired, or is there a history? Now were just nitpicking the OPs words here. Itd be much safer for the LW to ask HR what theyre going to say to other employers asking for references. its not condescending to point out that what LW did was incredibly foolish. 2) Told someone you broke a rule. Im not sure you can conclude that it was publically disclosable. It is ok to be upset at the coworker but it is important to recognize that she did nothing wrong and is not a rat. I understood her to say she texted from her cell phone. Yeah, I agree. December 15, 2009, 1:05 PM. Our actions and our thoughts can definitely be wrong, but calling someones feelingswhich they have little to no control overwrong (or, dead wrong with double asterisks), only contributes to shame and self-loathing. The coworker did the right thing. 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. That is exactly what could have happened to her government agency with the info that she leaked in the first place. The protected classes are race, age (40+), sex, national origin, religion, or disability. Its extremely tempting to want to be the person in-the-know, but my motivation for keeping things confidential is stronger: I dont want to ruin my reputation, and I dont want deal with the fallout of severely disappointing my colleagues, whom I respect and like. I didnt read it that way, its not a question of the coworker being Untrustworthy, its a matter of the OP not being able to judge who she can trust to keep things quiet. It was a couple of telling E-mails that helped bring down Bear Stearns with the subprime loan mess crashing . A first offense is still a breach in trust. All we can do is learn, rest, and go on another day. Period. The US is a large jurisdiction, and generally have what I consider very little protection for private data. I was fired over the phone. Every bit of what Ive said is probably hearsay. All of that being said, I wish her the best in moving forward and finding another job shell bounce back and be the wiser for it. The penalty for breach of confidentiality isn't restricted to employees who have . I would go through the channels to fire someone immediately over this, because it would make me lose all trust in them and if I can no longer be confident in their abilities to do their job effectively without spillage, theyre of no use to my team. Its too difficult to know which internally-discussed information is confidential and which isnt. In government, keep this confidential almost always means never share ever on pain of serious legal sanctions.. Lack of integrity. (Obviously it would have been best not to give her journalist friend the info to begin with.) Employees who violate their companies' email policies can face penalties ranging from disciplinary action to termination. and sent to multiple people (!!)? +100. Theres no such thing as blind-siding once youve committed an infraction and people have to act on it. I hope there are things at your job that are exciting to you! Cut to a couple hours later, and Im called into my bosss office because she has heard that I leaked this information to a SLACK CHANNEL FULL OF JOURNALISTS. The OPs comment here didnt seem defensive to me at all, and its definitely understandable that the letter was written in the heat of the moment. And, to be fair, based on your language about technical leaks, victimless, and ratting out I dont think your organization could entirely trust that you understand the gravity of the situation and wouldnt repeat the mistake. You texted proprietary information to a journalist. But OPs situation sounds like more of a case of I am just soooo excited about Cool Thing that I had to tell rather than something dangerous or corrupt is going on and the public should know.. Where I work, I cannot legally share information about very exciting things that are happening/about to happen. quite a lot of people are going to feel as though youre making them an accomplice in your bad behavior. I just wasn't thinking at the moment I sent the information. THIS ^^^ Whether it is age or just immaturity, there is clearly a major blind spot about the big picture and the potential impact resulting from this behavior. 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). Yeah, I think CA meant, the message was only sent to the friend/journalist, but you dont know where she opened it: if shes in an open newsroom or something, someone could have seen it on her screen over her shoulder. But when the guilt is deserved, its got a purpose. Both of those would merit a reprimand, separately or together, but somehow in the telling it got turned into that the latter happened with the former as the method. Understand the true risk of accidentally hitting send to the wrong person. because your performance / screw-up affects them, or because they feel they are being compared to you and want to put the record straight to defend themselves), or out of a sense that they have an obligation to report (whether or not they actually do). This is a GREAT way to position it. I agree that its ok to be upset with people, even if its irrational or illogical, as long as we ultimately let it go and refrain from mistreating someone because of our illogical emotional response. By Candice Novak. Yeah, this is a big part of it. Its the Im still pretty upset that I had no second chance, but I suppose I just lost their trust. that did it for me (especially after all the ways the OP dodged responsibility in the original letter). That oh honey is so unnecessary, and questioning LWs age is just rude. Id stay under a cloud of mistrust if that meant a steady paycheck if I didnt have anything else lined up. If youve no idea who the message was supposed to go to, simply let the sender know you received it by accident and move on. I was fired from a job and when I started interviewing for following ones, I kept trying to spin it and it did not work at it. Blame yourself for breaking the rules. So I guess my coworker could have misunderstood when I said I texted one friend, but I wish she would have talked to me about that first? An employer of mine got a FOIA request where they asked for every email wed sent to anyone from any regulatory agency. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Bye. Dont reveal confidential information and fully own up to your shit are good lessons. exciting! We are not in kindergarten. If I were you, I would examine WHY I decided to tell my journalist friend the info. I would argue if you acknowledge your error in judgment, it would work more to your benefit, then classifying it as a one-off mistake and overreaction by your company. Depending on their responses it ranged from retraining, to suspension, to immediate dismissal.. We need to be careful about using terms like victimless mistake. 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. Likewise, LW needed to understand that you dont get a next time not to tell anyone confidential information just because you get it now that they meant it when they said the information was confidential. It sounds like OP is young enough that they havent learned that there are some jobs where gossiping about your workplace with your friends is okay, and some jobs where that absolutely cannot fly. You're fired for violation but convince the Dept of Labor that no one without an IT degree could ever understand your policy. Unfortunately there are certain positions where you dont get a second chance when the error knowingly breaking a rule. I have to deal with famous folks at well; I work for a company that handles federal medical insurance and every once in a while I might run across Justice X, Senator Y, etc. I admit to being incredibly curious as well. But would the government do that? I recall a year or so into this administration at least a couple federal departments making A Big Deal out of leaks because it seemed like every other story (usually negative) was quoting an anonymous source sharing sensitive information they werent authorized to release. People just seemed to forget that with Epic, even one second of accessing a chart is recorded. Because they turned out to not be trustworthy. To say my friend was mortified would be an understatement. 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 think, I never worked in government communications so Im not positive of this.). We also got early warning that legislators were encouraged to resign, a day or two before the press releases. Equally, when we had a client who does the same job role as someone I know, I had to completely embargo that piece of information in my head, because I know that its a small field and my friend might recognise the detail I thought was vague enough to be anonymous. Thats the wrong lesson to learn. Breaking certain rules in the workplace, whether written or unwritten, may get you fired. 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. If *you* got that carried away, you cant guarantee that she wont, either. If that is so, there is nothing you can do to avoid the termination and you should be looking for new employment. And then that coworker did tell someone, and she was fired. Let me be clear she did not leak it. Its the only way they can maintain control of the information. It sounds like youre taking responsiblity for your actions and are doing your best to move on. And theres a difference between feeling (sensation) and feeling (conclusion drawn from integrating sensations and information). Confidentiality is a big deal for a lot of reasons, and people in those types tend to respect that. President issuing an executive order on (issue the agency deals with) Confidentiality is not just an issue in communications. As a sidenote: *Even if* you think it *wasnt* a big deal, when you get hauled into the boss office and told it. And then there are things you cannot even hint at under any circumstances. Letter writer: If youre still dealing with this emotionally, focus on the facts. She probably felt she had a duty to disclose it and she may well have. Your coworker then followed proper procedure when learning of this data breach- their actions were not ratting you out, their actions were following proper protocol for what an employee who is working at a company that frequently deals with sensitive data is tasked with doing once they learn of a data breach. Plus, I think part of it was that it was exciting BECAUSE it was secret, and now its apparently common knowledge. Just a bad situation. Or that might not make a difference on how its interpreted. Its good to hear from you! Thats what I would do. Its going to be a hurdle. They would definitely see any mention of confidentiality breach as a huge red flag and drop OP from the hiring process at once. Resist the temptation to gossip about fellow employees and don't express your disdain for your. That said, is there any reason you need to answer these questions? You shouldnt be upset at your coworker, if anything she should be upset with you for putting her in that situation. All mom did was hand dad the phone. High-profile thing the president wanted and agency employees opposed isnt going to happen 4. There was no warning, no suspension, nothing. Gossage said he believed he was speaking in confidence to someone he trusted implicitly, but the story subsequently appeared in the Sunday Times, to the dismay and rage of the author of the Harry Potter books.. (Even if its not an area she covers, she likely knows the person who does, and journalists share tips/info all the time.). You know thats not how that works. Protect your people from socially engineered phishing attacks, Defend against attacks originating from compromised supply chain accounts, Detect fraudulent invoices and payment requests, Prevent people falling victim to targeted impersonation attacks, Defend against the delivery of ransomware and malware by email, Stop phishing attacks that lead to credential theft, Prevent email data loss caused by human error, Block exfiltration of personal and company data, Preserve ethical walls to prevent disclosure of information and avoid conflicts of interest, Apply the appropriate level of encryption to sensitive emails and attachments, Detect and prevent advanced email threats that slip through Microsoft 365, Provide people with easy, actionable advice in real-time at the point of risk, How to use a hacker's toolkit against them. I think interviewers will pick up on the equivocation in your language here. I think in both cases, part of the concern is this retroactive removal of risk. What if there was another leak and someone found out that OP had told Coworker that she had leaked info previously, but didnt report it as she was supposed. Completely unrelated to the topic at hand, love the username! She got paid to pose as Roeders* mistress, once. Something LW has not seemed to understand: the fact that you worked for a governmental agency is not the issue, the fact that you leaked info early is. Yeah, this is an excellent point. Dont disagree feelings arent wrong but the way we think about them often is. This is mostly a matter of describing your motivation appropriately, and in this respect "At that time, I did not realize" does a better job of conveying that your basis of judgment has changed in the course of that experience than a mere "I did not realize" would. I dont even share work release information (good or bad) early with my spouse. Certainly not an electronic blog. That said, I am curious if theres other context that explains why they fired you for a first offense without warning you first. I used to work at a public Zoo that was owned by the state, and so we were all state government employees. OP, its worth examining whether trying to assuage your guilt by sharing this with your mentor, rather than with some outside person who doesnt touch on your industry, was a version of getting post-mortem permission. No, no, no, no, no. As in I am so, so sorry! Sometimes that PHI belongs to people I know. I empathize I LOVE being a person who is in the know and I can be impulsive. I have news from my job that I cannot share with some coworkers. The thing is though, you dont get credit for leaking to a trustworthy person who decides not to hang you out to dry. For a market where most of this stuff lives in a big way for one season, and then only has some ongoing staying power? Yes, but lets face it, theres no way its as exciting as what any of us are imagining it to be. You unpromptedly wrote a message to the friend. All we know is that OP made a disclosure, and the coworker is aware the disclosure happened via Slack. No 2nd chance especially because you knew it was a no-no before you shared. Or they might have a zero-tolerance policy for leaks as a deterrent. If you had to process the cool news, it may have been better to process with the mentor instead. No checking out salary information permitted! Third, with bright line rules, we cannot adopt situational ethics where its ok to disclose to close-trusted-journalist-friend because we trust them. It might possibly be seen as less bad that the information shared was intended to be made public anyway, as opposed to it being information that wasnt ever supposed to get out. But your framing of this does sound defensive and doesnt sound like youre taking responsibility for what happened. Replying to the sender is a good thing to do for a couple of reasons. We go through training every 6 months, that we should NOT to tell the coworker or customer that we will need to report them. I tell my team that if it leaks from us, they cannot work here. You can never rely on people to be 100% trustworthy, no matter how long youve known them. Thank you for pointing this out! That would likely lead to your manager also getting fired (for not firing you in the first place) and also make your entire department/agency look bad to the public (whod be wondering who else still working there has done something similar without getting fired). Communications professionals are privy to so many deals and information that cant be divulged to even spouses until they become public. My adviser listened to what was going on and was like we have to tell. Regardless of what word you use when you disclose what happened, understanding that difference, owning up to it, and showing how you've changed as a result is your best hope of gaining future employment. I understand that the breach was very bad and that the organization needed to take some disciplinary action, but it seems to me that firing an employee who fessed up to something like this to a senior coworker sends the message: If you mess up bad enough, dont tell anyone. While irritating, email from mass marketing lists dont require a response and you probably wouldnt get an answer anyway. Excellent points, especially LWs use of ratted out. Alison has said so many times that theres no tattling in the work world. They know it happens. Your comment above is much closer to an effective track. I arrived in 69. In other words, this whole line of discussion is moot. This just wasnt the place for you in the end. I wonder if OP ever got the chance to correct the misunderstanding. 1) Broke a rule The first job will be the hardest but gradually you are less and less likely to be asked about an older job. That was not an enjoyable situation at all. 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.