Dont reveal confidential information and fully own up to your shit are good lessons. Understand the true risk of accidentally hitting send to the wrong person. What I ended up doing is learning to avoid mopped floors as much as possible and warning people to be careful around them. Not necessarily for the leaking but for the way youre talking about it. I strongly disagree with this. How you analyze the situation and internalize the lesson is more important than wording for future employers right now. The message there is dont violate confidentiality policies. She already acknowledged that its 100% her fault. It would probably breach a few laws in other European countries too. When an employer says something is confidential, take it seriously If a breach is proved, the employee may be liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages Howard Levitt Published Aug 01, 2019 Last updated Oct 28, 2019 4 minute read Join the conversation If you open a phishing email and it results in your company's confidential information being compromised, your employer may fire you. When we make mistakes, they are impactful, but we're human and it happens. But she also would not tell me if she spent a day at work planning for a war!). and sent to multiple people (!!)? I wouldnt lead with it, but I wouldnt hide it either if it ever comes up, and folks will likely ask about why youve left past jobs. A majority of those who work from home would use their own personal digital devices such as laptop, tablet or mobile to perform their daily work tasks and it is also convenient for employees to. I am very, very lucky. All three have kept their mouths shut, at least to the best of my knowledge, and I can talk it over without worrying that I will cause a problem with my disclosing. And Im happy to report that I have never shared that news (still remember it bcs this was so hard that first time!). +10. But it could be that GSAs dad had a code/password to verify it was actually him and the caller forgot to verify that first. As much as I love some of my coworkers, Im not taking one of the team. 4. Yup. 2007-2023. I wonder LW, would your interactions with the higher ups have been different if your co-worker/mentor had given you the heads up that she was going to have to report this? And thats still very unrealistic / way off-base, if OP truly gets why this was a slam-dunk decision, in that particular circumstance. According to Tessian research, over half (58%) of employees say they've sent an email to the wrong person. This cant be said often enough, so Im going to repeat it. Our grant program is going to be fully funded by Congress! That has an impact on real estate values and could make a government employee excited. I found out accidentally.) Exactly this. Right? But they took confidentiality very seriously, and I signed an extremely ironclad NDA, so I never told anyone any of the interesting tidbits I found out about from working there. 2.) And theyll be first with the story. when we had a high school shooting, a student I knew (10 y old) and who got into it (gladly uninjured) got a visit from his own uncle who was a journalist that very evening, who came to visit the parents and then proceeded to try to get his nephew to talk about the details. I was sent home, and then fired over the phone a few hours later. Don't be me, is what I'm saying I guess! If *you* got that carried away, you cant guarantee that she wont, either. Businesses have a term for that kind of behaviour, and that is 'data leakage'. Its not a victimless crime and you have to understand the seriousness of what you did, even unintentionally. Yes of course it feels bad that you were fired. I cant say any details yet, but needed to share my excitement!!. Its definitely not a spur if the moment decision. The enforcement has to be based on the idea that the leak was damaging. From a government point of view, the only thing that matters is this: LW was trusted to handle confidential information and keep it inside the agencys control; instead she passed that information to someone outside that permission (whose job is to disseminate information to the public!) Note: You dont want to frame this as It would have been made public eventually so I did nothing wrong. Your tone is still very much acknowledging that you messed up. I am a veteran employee in good standing, but if I shared Material NonPublic Information I learned on the job and was found out, I would be terminated immediately and they would be right to do so. Its also important to note that OP called it non-public and Alison was the person who called it confidential. Yeah just assume that for the next few years youre out of the running for jobs that require a confidentiality. I think that speaks to exactly why this was such a breach, though. Before someone decides to do that, I encourage them to get legal representation. It was absolutely drilled into all of our heads during grad school and training that you can never, ever do this. There are many ways to say thing like this without lying. This just wasnt the place for you in the end. And if I tell anyone, including a coworker ,that I processed said claim, my butt could very well get in a lot of trouble. Im sorry it happened to you, though, and it definitely stinks. Another public sector worker here. Have you learned from your mistake? All rights reserved. He was employed elsewhere within a few weeks. This is NOT a myob type situation at all. Thank you for pointing this out! But thats where having friends in the same workplace comes inyou can expend the impulse by gushing to them and then zip your lips once you leave the building. And especially, sharing information that youre not supposed to tends to be the type of thing that will get you fired immediately without another chance. How exciting! and I started reading the details from the email out loud to him. (I thought Al Frankens apology to the fellow entertainer was pretty good, actually. But it sounds like it doesnt really matter that HR jumbled the details because neither was a permitted thing to do anyway. Where I work, I cannot legally share information about very exciting things that are happening/about to happen. Once info is out in the community, you have no control over where it goes and any and all ramifications. Some seem to imply there is no reason ever to leak information, which isnt true. Alisons words are great to have prepared, and be super clear that you understand it was a problem, it was bad, and you take it very seriously. If you were fired for an embarrassing reason that would torpedo your chances in an interview, say that your position was eliminated. Its like winning the jackpot in a slot machine then declaring that you KNEW you were going to win, so it wasnt really gambling at all. So please think about that aspect when youre thinking about how she ratted you out. It was a couple of telling E-mails that helped bring down Bear Stearns with the subprime loan mess crashing . Or does it only matter that I broke a rule? FIFTY?! If its a marketing message, spam, or something that looks entirely unimportant simply delete and move on. So the judgment on trustworthiness is flawed. One of my favorite shows had a plotline about a sibling not liking someone not breaking doctor confidentiality. If there were excetions, that would be explicitly stated. 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. OP, if everything that was predictably risky, harmful, dangerous, bad, illegal or wrong really felt bad on some core level, we would almost never need to make rules. Its not their call. Hi LW, I agree with Alison the best way to approach with is by taking full ownership of what happened. Im still pretty upset that I had no second chance, but I suppose I just lost their trust. The emotion is neutral; its what you do with it that counts. Funny story: My mom used to call the bank I worked at where she had an account. So if shes genuinely surprised at this outcome, it stands to reason that its new for her, which strongly implies she just hasnt been working very long, which implies youth. They have absolutely no obligation to keep secrets for government agencies or private companies. And if weve learned anything from this letter, its that information thats supposed to be kept secret isnt always. The advance knowledge of something pending going public is a very powerful position. 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. Only behaviors are right or wrong. +1 on the choice of language and framing. When you don't know the sender, but the email is clearly confidential and sensitive, things are little more complicated and you have a decision to make. So, thats to say that I *completely* get the idea that at some point, you get to a point where you just really really need to share. My mom worked in sunshine law for state government, and what constitutes a record is a lot broader than most people realize. Or does it only matter that I broke a rule?, For #1, Youre certainly allowed to bring up anything you want in an interview, the question you should really be asking is, Will it help or hurt my candidacy to bring this up?. I always wondered if they remained friends after that fiasco. Also, Im so done with people using the phrase ratted me out. Im not trying to beat up on the OP; goodness, Ive done similar things and felt the same way she does! It only takes a minute to sign up. Because I can almost guarantee that your reputation in that organization would never recover, even if you had remained employed. 1. 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. If we receive confidential information, there are very specific and non-flexible procedures we have to follow to handle those documents/information. LW I encourage you to ask yourself why you wrote this: Your actions showed you were not trustworthy with confidential information. Journalists are very charasmatic and will fish for info its their job. Im also a public affairs officer for a government agency- one that almost exclusively deals with highly classified information. And this will definitely have an effect on how you come across to people interviewing you in future. If there was no record, then there is no possible sanction under FOIA or sunshine law (because that only pertains to records). Yeah the world just being what it is, if youre this bad at keeping secrets, youre gonna get burned by it pretty quick. Can you explain to us what you learned? Which is so far beyond the truth Im honestly wondering if this coworker had it out for me the whole time. Same here. my boss read my Skype conversations, parental involvement with employees under 18, and more, my manager and coworker are secretly dating, boss will never give exceeds expectations because he has high standards, and more, update: I supervise a manager who falsified an employee write-up but I dont think she should be fired, stolen sandwiches, disgusting fridges, dish-washing drama: lets talk about office kitchen mayhem, interviewer scolded me for my outfit, job requires an oath of allegiance, and more, update: a DNA test revealed the CEO is my half brother and hes freaking out, my entry-level employee gave me a bunch of off-base criticism. a friend sent en email containing critical information and documents about a particular person to a person who wasn't that person. While irritating, email from mass marketing lists dont require a response and you probably wouldnt get an answer anyway. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? LW used Slack at work (and was not supposed to) You shouldnt be upset at your coworker, if anything she should be upset with you for putting her in that situation. The coworker did the right thing. Many Government Agencies have specific rules about reference checks. More employers are still going to be turned off by that than impressed. It could be that she did (and I think no employer should ever fire anyone without hearing their version of the story) but the employer still thought its bad enough that they need to fire OP. Government tends to operate differently. Taking a quick peek at someones medical records just out of curiosity? Long since past, now.). In those cases I have to be even more careful, because minor details might get linked to the news story and suddenly its not anonymous any more. a. problem then you APOLOGIZE and APOLOGIZE rather than defend yourself. But doing so would likely out the department LW worked for, and probably LW herself. In a job interview, how do I explain why I was fired? I can't remember the details, but there was a point about the fact the word "confidential" added in every e-mail by such a notice wasn't actually helpful, since tools that looked for the word confidential were flagging everything up, including a large number of false positives. Agreed. I would also lay odds that when LW says Coworker was understandably very uncomfortable with what I did, and we had a very nice conversation about our duties as communication officers, and trust, etc., that means that despite what LW thought about it being a nice confidential chat, her mentor figure was trying to imply to her that she was going to HAVE TO report the incident, because trust and responsibility. 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. Sometimes I need to talk about what Ive heard or am excited about something I did which made a significant improvement to someones life, but I have to talk about that in a way that doesnt risk identifying the person at all. Id had excellent feedback up until then (if this is true), but I mistakenly shared some non-public information with a friend outside the agency, and they let me go as a result. Yup, landline. 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). If any of those connections were being intercepted by an unknown third party, however, you've just put your customer's data into their hands. In such cases, the employee should be given the benefit of the doubt. If OP had confessed to their manager, it would make sense for the manager to say, I have to report this to such-and-such, but the coworker was right not to warn OP. Although it was mortifying at the time, this has taught me a hard but valuable lesson about handling sensitive information setting boundaries in my relationships with reporters. Just keep it to yourself or youll get fired. And thatsnot great? Im not trying to teach her a lesson, necessarily, she seems to have gotten the point. We call this a misdirected email and it's really, really easy to do. Breaking certain rules in the workplace, whether written or unwritten, may get you fired. But your wording indicates that you dont yet have insight into just how much you breached the trust of your company. LW best of luck! It was bananas. My philosophy is that it doesnt matter what city you live in, its a small town. Embargoes and off-the-record information are for journalists who are actually covering a story and in most cases that information can be shared in the newsroom (by saying a source told me off record if confidentiality is really important) and acted upon (you can start to write out a story to be ready when the embargo lifts, or call work to corroborate the off-the-record with on background or on record sources). Thats also real life. This is your making, and while I wish you luck, you have zero cause to be disgruntled with your coworker or employer. You didn't accidentally email the material to yourself, you did it on purpose. It was bad. They must always assume the worst case anyway. I was new to the field and had no idea how dysfunctional that workplace was. Letter writer, it sounds like youre new to our field and may not understand the importance of keeping confidence. This is a long way to go for a publicity stunt. 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. The Smurfs have a secret colony in the woods of Maine!. It will get out, eventually. Animaniactoo is right that folks who have to manage confidential information begin to cultivate the skill of sharing without making an unauthorized disclosure. You asked how to handle this in future interviews and one key is owning the mistake, taking responsibility for it. Im not going to tell them about it, unless it actually falls out that I end up being the person who is put in charge of telling them their thing is done. Fortunately, I was not fired for the mistake, but my employer did call me on the carpet for a very serious discussion on why we cant share any information that we only have access to because we work there, regardless of how sensitive or not sensitive we think it is on a case-by-case basis. whatever you think is appropriate] to make sure it doesnt happen again.. Nowadays with mobile devices, email and the cloud, it is extremely easy to share files, easy enough that we may accidentally send and share them to the wrong person. Best of luck with your search. 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.. Its going to bite someoneand this time the person it bit was herself, which gives her a good opportunity to work on discipline and discretion. It still sucks, but its not really personal per se, and perhaps it will help a little bit to think of it that way. You might have to take a step back in your career to come back from it but you can you bounce back. Everyone in the workplace has an equal obligation and responsibility to ensure that rules are upheld because thats what keeps the company operating smoothly and in business and able to provide jobs to you all. Granted, it was to your older co-worker rather than your boss, but that still shows you felt uncomfortable with your actions. Yes, I did filing in a small-town law office where almost every name was familiar and nothing I read or saw left the office. Under the "General" tab, you'll see a section called "Undo send.". 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. Because a) LW broke confidentiality. Sometimes its because someone could obtain an unfair benefit from early access to what will later become public information (e.g., think analogous to insider trading). 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. Confidentiality, especially in government, is no joke and should be taken very seriously. First coworker was fired in spite of the fact that he was a brilliant and (normally) even tempered guy with years of work at the corporation. Humans, in general, are not geared towards confidentiality and secrecy long-term. I deal with it by having friends in the firm who I can say it to (but not in a bar!). She would ask every rep if they were using TEAPOT o service accounts, and would proudly exclaim, My daughter built TEAPOT! She thought she was connecting with the people who helped her. So mention it only if explicitly asked. If someone told me something that I know Id have to report, I would report it. I arrived in 69. Im glad that youve had time to think about it and can own the mistake, thats the most important part when we mess up. No. Show prospective employers that you can reflect on your actions and learn from mistakes, because thats not at all what Im seeing here. You know that saying Its not the crime that gets you, but the cover-up? This is a very astute comment, especially your last paragraph. Sometimes that PHI belongs to people I know. Firing you was probably not what they wanted to do, and Im sorry. Sometimes were lucky and there arent any repercussions. The z department is not allocating the staff they promised. I totally get how it can be really exciting to hear about cool things, and the impulse to tell the people close to you. how do you handle being pregnant at work? I accidentally sent the email about the female coworker to this other female coworker. We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. Im curious about how to turn the page, and I think your advice is really good about this own it, let go of the defensiveness, be ready to talk about changes youve made so it wont happen again. I see a lot of people saying that its always wrong to share confidential information with the press, and thats not necessarily true. Maybe you get a 2nd chance IF you were contrite enough and blamed your excitement at the new teapot program. I will be in so much trouble if anyone finds out! your blindsided coworker is not required to enter into a cover-up conspiracy with you. I dont mean to sound harsh but you really need to break out of this frame of mind. When theres something I really want to share with my wife, I mask it, pretty much what we do here talking about how the client invested in llama shearings, or called up asking about rumours of purple llamas, or asked us to sell all their teapots that kind of thing. 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? I think in both cases, part of the concern is this retroactive removal of risk. FOIA and open records requests are really big deals. Ethically, you dont have to do anything. If I wanted a cookie and I didnt get one, I can feel sad, and thats fine. 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. No, no, no, no, no. I always appreciate your combination of kindness and firm clarity. It doesnt matter that the information is going public next week. I hope there are things at your job that are exciting to you! The ex-coworker reached out to me asking if I could send them a copy of the report so they didnt have to start from scratch and repeat the same work they had already done. can you get fired for accidentally sending confidential information ninkondi prime stance 3d parallax background mod apk latest version take me to st ives cambridgeshire can you get fired for accidentally sending confidential information. This may have been part of why the manager took the steps she did. But your friends profession means you often cant share these types of things with her because of other peoples perceptions about it they dont know your friend, and while she may take off the record seriously, some journalists dont and your coworkers have no way of knowing which type of journalist she is. I understand the issue had to be reported, but why this way ? You are of course welcome to your feelings, we all feel what we feel, but it sounds like your thoughts and beliefs havent settled to the fact that **your feelings are dead wrong**. It was a refreshingly candid answer and so we wound up hiring him. The person you wronged is not obligated to give you that second chance with them. 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 type of sanctions that Contract Killer is talking about would only apply to confidential records, not non-public records. When they took the only course of action they could have taken and still kept their job and notified your employer of your actions, you became defensive of your actions. All rights reserved. Plenty of folks are friends in my business lobbyists, journalists, staffers you cant lose control of your impulse to share information.