can you get fired for accidentally sending confidential informationgangster disciples atlanta
OP came to her, she felt guilty, they apparently talked about this a bit, so why not tell her that this cant be kept secret and she has to come forward to her boss ? My boss and I had a very serious conversation about it, and I think the only reason I was not fired was that I immediately and unequivocally took responsibility. It can be exciting to know whats going to happen before it happens, even when the news itself isnt *that* thrilling. This is NOT a myob type situation at all. But thats not what happened here. "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. and that was interestingthey had criticisms I hadnt thought of. Don't worry, you're still qualified to be Secretary of State. I got fired due to sending an email by mistake to the wrong person that had someone else's credit card information in - Answered by a verified Employment Lawyer . Im also a supervisor. While it didnt result in any press, it was obviously a major lapse in judgment and I understand why it resulted in my termination. Even a private company would consider this a breach of trust, and could could consider firing. He was very good about keeping track of his boundaries, and we got very used to finding ways of being politely interested in how his work was going for him without putting pressure on him about the details. Trying to understand how to get this basic Fourier Series, Linear regulator thermal information missing in datasheet. Disclosing confidential information has, at best, resulted in nothing, and at worse, resulted in injury/death, or even political systems toppling. If its a marketing message, spam, or something that looks entirely unimportant simply delete and move on. I dont love not being able to tell her things (even though we are each others I promise not to tell anybody (but Friend) person), the way we share this information is by forwarding press releases once the information is public. Before I was born, there was a project where mother had to get clearance as well. You said in your letter that you were so excited that you wanted to share it in celebration. Its going to be a hurdle. Yes, some employer will bin you, others might give you a second chance. :) :) :) :) Being a wealthy heiress and a socialite IS a full-time job! People find new jobs after being fired all the time. This was a person whose reviews had been glowing up until that moment and I am sure they are still upset that this came out of the blue. Best of luck with your search. (Most companies that use these kinds of scanners dont let employees know. Regulation people have heard of is going to be changed/repealed and its a big deal Given how much we have learned about foreign intelligence operations in American social media in the last few years, this is yet another reason why information security of all levels is taken so seriously. It shouldnt happen but Id understand if it did. 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? All people, of all ages, are capable of errors in judgment. And Im happy to report that I have never shared that news (still remember it bcs this was so hard that first time!). At the risk exposing my identity to a reader who knows me offline, two big things Ive leaked without running afoul of any organizational trust are: Such and such church is giving away their building and my nonprofit is under consideration to be the recipient and Were going to be filing a lawsuit against X because of Y., To clarify, Im not trying to minimize the gravity of OPs mistake or the seriousness of strict confidentiality in other contexts. As this was almost the entirety of your job they really couldnt keep you around. LW doesnt seem defensive at all here, and its okay to feel upset while still taking ownership of their actions. That makes the violation much worse. I work for a government entity and believe me if you need a reminder not to text a journalist non-public information my line of work is not for you. How do I tell potential future employers why I got fired and have them still want to hire me? Plus you might be doing them a massive favour when it comes to catching a data breach early. All we know is that OP made a disclosure, and the coworker is aware the disclosure happened via Slack. Your assistance is much appreciated. Dont reveal confidential information and fully own up to your shit are good lessons. and sent to multiple people (!!)? Telling the trusted friend was the fireable offense. So, are you clear about the severity of your action and the significance of this rule? Ive seen many workplaces that dont spend an amount of time discussing confidentiality that is commensurate with its importance, or that dont go into specifics about when it is and isnt ok to tell somebody something you heard at work, and a general statement tends not to hold up to the in-the-moment excitement of oooooh I know THING about CELEBRITY! or whatever. 1) Slack vs text: doesnt matter. In this situation, it is acceptable to make 'fear of attachment' jokes. 3. Also ratty. Talking about your work on a more general level is usually allowed unless your employer or their client is unusually paranoid. Its a bigger deal because that friend is a journalist. Even though shes made the same mistake 2 times). Im interested in the fact that the journalist friend is described as 100% trustworthy. Fired. Thats the one that needs to learn to keep things to herself? OP notes that she is a government employee. Then, when someone particularly notable would enter our database, we would get a reminder email not naming names but reminding us that no matter how interesting the information is, its private and not ok to share. So, I can talk about it, I can say Omg, there was one scene that I was just like SuperCheese! and rolling my eyes. Many types of information are protected only during specific time frames insider trading comes to mind as a particularly nasty one disclosing inside information about a pending large contract award or trade is absolutely firable. OP will also want to consider not focusing her career path on jobs that require a security clearance for classified information. Same here! Take full responsibility. You dont get a warning for things like that. If she really understood or valued confidentiality, she would not be trying to convince us of how victimless this was. The focus moving forward should be about realizing how serious a problem it was, how badly you feel about it, and how youre committed to not making the same mistake again. OP: If she tried to downplay the seriousness of the breach in the meeting (like saying it was a victimless crime) then they may have decided that they couldnt afford to give a second chance. Don't say "I was escorted out by armed guards" where you can say "My manager was disappointed enough to let me go". Yeah it totally sucks but now you at least have a chance to start fresh. If it was something that was a big deal to LW but not huge news externally, yeah, its not a thing. (For example, my BFF works at the Pentagon. They are pretty free with stating exactly why someone was fired. Youre not in a gang or on a schoolyard playground or fighting with your sibling in the backseat of the family station wagon. That oh honey is so unnecessary, and questioning LWs age is just rude. Accidents happen inadvertently but this is not the case here. OP wasnt a journalist. I DEFinitely sometimes shared those tidbits with friends and family who were big tiger/hippo/etc fans. 1. We are not in kindergarten. I have worked and volunteered at government-related organizations before. In my experience, it was highly effective. Absolutely! Even there, be very sure the person youre talking to has the same access you do. Personal info is never OK to share with anyone, or things that could lead to recognizing a person if someone happens to know that person (and you never know who knows who). I agree. Because I said I wouldnt, I knew there would be consequences if something like your story happened to me, and also because, hows that going to look to a potential future employer that might value confidentiality equally highly? Perhaps something like the announcement of the new Amazon HQ? Sharing HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL info with a JOURNALIST? I didnt know how to say it without seeming to condone the breach. Excitedly texting confidential, FOUO information to a friend who happens to be a journalist, unconscious of the optics and real potential harm? I am a govt worker in NY. It was a refreshingly candid answer and so we wound up hiring him. Honestly, I got the impression that the writer was on the younger end, just in their self-reported actions and reactions. Phrase it as a serious learning point, because you sure as hell aren't going to do it again after getting fired. Just a bad situation. This cant be said often enough, so Im going to repeat it. someone in another department saw the post, reached out to the person who made it and asked for information about the person they had heard it from. But your wording indicates that you dont yet have insight into just how much you breached the trust of your company. We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. Thats pretty ratty behavior. 4. First coworker punched second coworker. So have a lot of other people who have managed to find other jobs. If there was no record, then there is no possible sanction under FOIA or sunshine law (because that only pertains to records). Well 1.) Yeah, I once got fired and I have always framed it as being fired for one thing I said in a meeting, but the truth is, I really got fired for not apologizing for saying the one thing. Some are minor, some are devastating. My adviser listened to what was going on and was like we have to tell. I work for a charity that offers a telephone service nationwide, and I take a lot of calls from people in quite distressing situations. 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. Then the stories died down and the pressure with it even though there were still occasional leaks. Also, the OP wont be able to ever claim the good work experience she gained from the role. Forgetting the attachment. Also, no matter how good a friend someone is, if they are a journalist you need to zip your lips. The person whos emailed may have inadvertently caused a data breach, so it could be important you get in touch and let them know. Having a mentor at a different organization in a similar role might be a good idea for the future. Period. If you want to work in comms, you need to be crystal clear that the TIMING of disclosure is a crucial issue. Sometimes their hands are tied too. OP, take a deep breath. So I guess maybe it is a generational thing? She IS a rat! If yes, that is relevant to the question. Or the surrounding land if its something that will raise property values. If someone told me something that I know Id have to report, I would report it. So, he learns about things at the same time as the public, and he just knows when Im extra busy because theres a big release coming, or someone messed something up, etc. I missed the phrase ratted me out in the original message, but given those feelings, it doesnt really count as self-reporting. When it came up during her interview, the candidate said it was complex and that shed learned from it. Unless things have changed since I was in j-school (which is a possibility), off-the-record arrangements are basically the journalistic equivalent of a pinky swear. Which means have to vet things like your friend is a journalist, but doesnt cover your area? 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. This just wasnt the place for you in the end. Funny story: My mom used to call the bank I worked at where she had an account. But she also would not tell me if she spent a day at work planning for a war!). I wanted to say, it sucks you lost your job after this one time indiscretion, but Im glad you understand the seriousness of it and with Alisons script, I hope youll find a new job soon. can you get fired for accidentally sending confidential information. Unfortunately, someone did leak the info so all the employees read about the information in a major business news website AND the local newspaper the night before the event despite the intention for the employees to hear the news firsthand at the event before it was released to the public. FOIA and open records requests are really big deals. It was a big enough thing that they gave you a 1st chance. Im a publicist. Good luck to you I think Allisons advice for answering questions about this experience is spot on. But from there you can talk about what you learned from the experience and how this makes you a better employee/candidate now. Don't be me, is what I'm saying I guess! OP should be counting their blessings they only got fired and be upset with themselves for making such an obvious and preventable error, not expecting a large bureaucracy to break its own rules to accommodate them. Best wishes to OP in her work on this. In a roundabout way, they somewhat did you a kindness by firing you. LW is undisciplined and has a big mouth. Its no worse than our organization doesnt protect classified information no matter how badly an employee disregards policies. And in this case, I beleive that is correct. And, yeah, that happens, its part of being a human. Moving on from that company is probably a mixed blessing. I know it isnt the actual incident since the details dont match (no twitter or cake pictures mentioned in OPs case), but I was assuming it was something like the NASA gravitational waves thing. The one time I filled a confidentiality-bound role (as a temp) the information I was given was specifically NOT to tell the person you were obligated to report. In this situation, I reported myself is simply false, given OPs expectation that her mentor wouldnt pass along what she knew to anyone else. You are almost certainly an at-will employee so you can be discharged at anytime and for any reason or even no reason at all. Including their reputation being damaged. And if we do, well tell them not to tell anyone.. Confidentiality is not just an issue in communications. With all the Data Protection rules, the E-privacy Regs, yes - and sorry, GDPR, my friend was in panic mode as they still didn't really understand their situation. So yeah, confidential stuff is confidential for a reason. A good . I, too, have made foolish mistakes that cost me a job. A federal appeals court recently addressed whether employees had standing to bring a lawsuit when their personally identifiable information (PII) was inadvertently circulated to other employees at the company, with no indication of misuse or external disclosure. 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. OP if I was part of an interview for you, and you brought up this situation the way its phrased here, Im sorry to say it would be an immediate pass. 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. It wasnt particularly kind to her friend, either. All the meanwhile you're still trying to run a successful business and handling other things that are coming up. It will also help you to not repeat the mistake in the future. This reminds me of people whose response to hearing no is well, how do we get to a yes? LWs response to this was unacceptable and we cannot have a person on our staff who would do this, was Oh, okay, well, next time I have a similar opportunity here I wont do this.. Still wondering why there was no second chance, though. When weve made a mistake, it often feels unfair when we dont get an opportunity to explain, defend, and/or redeem ourselves. I imagine optimal framing varies by industry and so Im not sure what to advise there. But there was no way we were actually going to get the contract now if they didnt. Thats why they told you no. Yeah, Im wondering that too. The same goes for ratting out. I get that youre trying to take responsibility here, but your Im still pretty upset that I had no second chance, I suppose suggests to me you still have a long way to go toward recognizing and acknowledging the seriousness of what happened. The employer has a policy against this and everyone working there has signed that they read the policy. Yes, the ratted me out thing is probably not a fair assessment of what actually happened here. People working on campaigns get to be privy to all sorts of information that is not intended to be public. I want to caveat that when I originally wrote this, it had just happened and I was still extremely emotional about it, which is probably why I chose to leave out important information in my initial question. +100 to this. 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. I reminded him that anything sent in our work email is subject to FOIA and not really completely private from our employer, so if he was going to continue to work against the plan, use personal email. The government takes this stuff very very seriously. You kind of glaze over this, OP, but if you spoke in this meeting as you did here then I wonder if thats the real reason for the firing. The Expert above is not your attorney, and . I think that WAS her second chance, and I think something she said at the meetings (perhaps about how the problem is the coworker for being a rat) blew that second chance. They might tell superiors accidentally, out of frustration (e.g. They are not neutral. Let me be clear she did not leak it. Even if the coworker had malicious intentions, they were following privacy laws and regulations. Even when it doesnt require them to report it, it still could have consequences they dont want to be a part of! This is how old I am. The mistake was breaking company policy not that they announced to a coworker they broke company policy.. I think particularly since its the government, they couldnt take the risk of it happening again and it becoming public that not only was their a breach of confidentiality but that the person responsible had done it before. But the other person she spoke to, her coworker, told others, and somehow that message (of who and how she leaked it) got twisted into something much worse. Our newspapers report quite frequently on gossip of whats happening behind the scenes. Or even if you sit at the bar and the llama design keeps crossing your mind and you talk before you think. ), You also werent fired for technically breaking a rule. You were fired for actually breaking a rule, and a serious one. Your tone is very this wasnt a big deal and I shouldnt have been fired for it, when it really should be I made a foolish mistake which I deeply regret and Ive definitely learned my lesson. Fired. And that is a hard pill to swallow, for sure. whatever you think is appropriate] to make sure it doesnt happen again.. OP needs to learn the art of discernment. Or did you double down on not my fault, not a big deal, and co-worker shouldnt have said anything? How do I go about asking for a job on another team? I dont find it understandable that the OP expected a second chance for this, as someone who routinely deals with unclassified-but-FOUO, Confidential, and Secret information, except insofar as I can have sympathy for someone who perhaps didnt understand the gravity of their actions until consequences came down. The Smurfs have a secret colony in the woods of Maine!. When you are genuinely accept the error, analyze why you made it and address how to alter yourself to not be vulnerable to this kind of mistake again, it will naturally come across when you talk about it in interviews because youll be genuine and not trying to find a strategic angle and that genuine quality will land well with other mature professionals who have made their own mistakes. Journalists discuss things all the time that dont make it into published stories, or make it into stories that get killed, or get used for shaping further investigation, or even just as gossip. In addition to 100% needing to own it when asked about it, I think OP may also benefit from focusing the job search on jobs that dont involve handling sensitive or high profile information. She shared it with a friend. Im of course devastated, and moving on and figuring out my next steps. I went to my boss explained the situation and let me boss make the decision if we wanted to share the report. It may help you to know that the dreaded why are you unemployed right now question doesnt come up in every interview. If that got into the wrong hands it could even result in the end of civilization. But when I wrote letters to the llama farmers whose llamas had bitten a client whose story about her life-threatening goat allergy was featured in the papers (obviously this is not what actually happened), I had to be sure I didnt say anything about the llama farmer letters that could link to the goat story. Only behaviors are right or wrong. Obviously telling the friend was the fireable offense here, Im not arguing that. You learned, BOY HOWDY did you learn, and now you dont mess around not even gossiping with co-workers or any of those other little ways that could instill doubt in your discretion. I agree, but its been called out and I dont want to derail on it. If you lie during the interview and the truth later comes out, thats enough to get you fired. If you own your mistake, meditate on it, learn from it, and learn to tell the story of how you learned from it, then you might be able to get another job in the communications industry working for a company that does not handle sensitive client data, or in another industry where there are no potential confidentiality issues with your job. Journalists get embargoed or off-the-record information all the time and are able to play by those rules. Im assuming the LW plead their case and filled in relevant information. 1) Broke a rule I was fired over the phone. 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. OP doesnt sound naive or too young, either. If you talk about sensitive stuff in public you best be sure youre actually anonymizing what you have to say. I know Id be pissed at you. 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