Turning Off Email Access

By Angela Adams, CEBS, SPHR, Director, EEO & Compliance Solutions
Published January 21, 2025

Q: Are we legally allowed to turn off an employee’s work email access while they are out on a medical leave? We have reason to believe they might send out inappropriate emails.

As you probably know, your email systems belong to you as an employer, and “legally” you can monitor and control access to it at your will (at least in Illinois; in other states, check your state law). Employers should also note in their email policy that the system belongs to the employer and employees should not have an expectation of privacy when using the system. However, as in any circumstance, we at HR Source want to know more about the situation before we advise whether it’s a good idea or advisable, not just “legal.”

Do you have a policy (or if not a policy, a consistent practice) of removing all employees’ access while they are on medical leaves? If so, then we believe you should follow your policy regardless of the reason and turn off access.

If you don’t have such a policy or practice, then you can potentially turn it off, but you need to look at why you want to, to avoid discrimination claims, particularly under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when the person is out on a medical leave. You stated that you believe this person might abuse the email system. Why? Did the employee say they were going to use email inappropriately? If so, then you may want to proactively turn it off, although keep a record of why you did so. If it’s a feeling you have about this person, we don’t consider that to be enough to disable access. However, you have the right to monitor their email account, so if you see something problematic contact us on the HR Hotline to discuss.

Should you have a policy or practice to suspend email access on medical leaves? It’s up to you. Employees on approved medical leaves are supposed to be resting and gaining their strength. If they’re still being paid through short-term disability or paid time off, it’s not an issue from a pay perspective when they access and occasionally look at their email, but you should make sure they don’t violate their doctor’s orders. Remind supervisors that they should monitor how their direct reports use email during medical leaves to avoid excessive use.

If employees are not being paid, it becomes more problematic for them to be checking their email.  When an employee is on an unpaid leave, you may want to remind them that they should not be looking at email to avoid any pay disputes, or you can turn off access during that period.

Members with questions can contact us through the HR Hotline Online or at 800-448-4584.