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Fired Employee Deletes Entire Inbox Before Leaving: Now What?


Many employers have been in this boat before:  An employee is fired and before the employee actually leaves the office, turns in company equipment, etc., the fired employee erases his/her entire inbox.  The question then arises for employers:  Ok, now what?

Without a doubt, this type of action by a fired employee can become a major headache for employers.  Luckily, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ("CFAA") provides some guidance, and grounds upon which an employer can sue the fired employee.  The CFAA is designed to prevent unauthorized access or malicious interference with a computer system.  

In order for an employer to state a valid claim under the CFAA, the employer must show that an employee actually caused damage to its computer or data system.  The CFAA defines "damage" as any impairment to the integrity or availability of data, a program, a system, or information.  However, this can often be a difficult hurdle for employers to clear.  Take for example the employee who deletes his/her entire inbox.  If the deleted e-mails are still in the Deleted Item box and/or company server (and not wiped away entirely), the employer likely cannot prove that the employee caused damage to its computer or data system, as the e-mails are still there.  If the employee actually went ahead and deleted the e-mails from everywhere (and the employer cannot access them anywhere), then there could be grounds for an employer to establish damages under the CFAA. 

Although it seems straight forward, employers should have a policy in place and remind employees that work e-mails are company property and should not be deleted/erased completely unless authorized to do so. 


Link to the text of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act:  http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1030

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