Employment Law for Business 6th Edition by Dawn Bennett Alexander ,Laura Hartman

Exercise 15

In 1992, a K-mart distribution facility in Illinois suspected that employees were stealing and vandalizing merchandise and using and selling drugs in the workplace. In order to identify the responsible individuals, K-mart hired two undercover private investigators to work and mingle among employees, while periodically submitting reports to the general manager of the facility. After months of interacting with and disclosing personal information to the undercover agents, employees discovered that the two "co-workers" were, in fact, undercover agents and sued K-mart for invasion of privacy, citing "intrusion into seclusion." Do they have a valid claim? Why or why not? [ Johnson et al. v. K-mart Corp., 311 Ill. App. 3d 573, 723 N.E.2d 1192 (2000).]