More than 15 years after the California Supreme Court decided Hernandez v. Hillsides, Inc. (2009) 47 Cal.4th 272, it remains a foundational case on employee privacy rights. While the employer prevailed, the case clarified where the legal boundaries lie—and why employers should tread carefully when it comes to surveillance.
Here are five (plus one) updated takeaways for California employers navigating privacy in the workplace, along with a refresher on the underlying facts.
Case Background: What Happened in Hernandez v. Hillsides?Hillsides, Inc., a nonprofit residential facility in Pasadena serving abused and neglected children, discovered that someone had been accessing pornographic websites late at night from a computer located in the shared daytime office of two clerical employees, Abigail Hernandez and Maria-Jose Lopez. The employer, deeply concerned about exposure to inappropriate material given its mission to protect vulnerable children, sought to identify the perpetrator.
After an initial attempt to place a camera in a computer lab proved too broad due to foot traffic, the facility’s director, installed a hidden video camera inside the plaintiffs’ office without notifying them. The camera, concealed among books and toys, was capable of recording video remotely when triggered by motion, but was only activated three times, all after hours and never while the employees were present.
Hernandez and Lopez eventually discovered the camera (a blinking red light gave it away), and although no footage of them existed, they sued for invasion of privacy.
The trial court...
