OP, specifically following up with Alisons advice above, you were fired because you showed your employer that your first reaction when learning about confidential information was to text (1) someone outside of your company who was not authorized to know that information and (2) someone who was a journalist, who by profession is at risk for leaking said confidential information EVEN IF you only know them as a friend and EVEN IF you promise pinky swear that they would never ever do that. How do I tell potential future employers why I got fired and have them still want to hire me? (For example, my BFF works at the Pentagon. When dad got on the phone he explained to the person that he understood the situation and that he was going to have to report him because he gave my mother classified information. Are you being GDPR compliant in your marketing? A senior UK diplomat has resigned over the matter. Im not sure what the best way is to address this, but were trying! Though there are a few that would be exciting. Or that might not make a difference on how its interpreted. She could have been a secretary or a spy; no one knows because she went to her grave never telling anyone, not even her husband. It is ok to be upset at the coworker but it is important to recognize that she did nothing wrong and is not a rat. Im sorry, but I think you were fired with pretty good cause and it would be important to own that or you wont be able to spin the story for future employers. There was no warning, no suspension, nothing. Don't worry, you're still qualified to be Secretary of State. For excellent reasons. But how do I explain this to show I learnt from my mistake and get a new job. Im a publicist. Journalists get embargoed or off-the-record information all the time and are able to play by those rules. My adviser listened to what was going on and was like we have to tell. You're fired for violation but convince the Dept of Labor that no one without an IT degree could ever understand your policy. Eight Warning Signs of Potential Employment Termination and Eight Ways Agreed, except for this: a journalist, who by profession is at risk for leaking said confidential information. Noooo. So for instance when I got an emergency grant from a water supplier for a woman with no income, there wasnt any risk that telling my wife would identify the woman. The same goes for ratting out. If you told, you breached confidentiality, no matter what the other people did. You need to be ready to show that you understand that you have responsibility to understand and comply with policy, and that you're willing to do that. you can include that in there too, not as a way to cast doubt on their decision but as a way to indicate this was a fluke, not a pattern of bad judgment. Take this to heart in your next position and deal with sensitive information. If OP doesnt recognize and own up to that, thats going to be a bigger red flag for potential employers than if OP said, I made a mistake, learned from it, and it wont happen again.. Fired. Its ridiculous how much a speculator can get from very little information, and this is why keeping anything secret until it is announced is important. ), This didnt involve a records request. Once you do it, the consequences are the consequences. I dont believe this falls under inadvertent, though OP deliberately gave that information to her friend. She already got that advice from Alison. Letting stuff out early could mean that goes off with a whimper instead of a bang and might be a financial difference in driving extra purchases for that initial season, and the implication of The Things staying power if it doesnt do well enough during that time. Confidential information is meant to be confidential and not shared with anyone. I think she was trying to lessen some of the guilt she felt, but really she should have just sat with that feeling and let it fuel her resolve to never share confidential info with an outside party again. One day its pre-public FOUO information; what next? "I made a dumb mistake and misjudged the sensitivity of some data" is both more accurate and less severe. She IS a rat! If I know that Senator Y is releasing a health care plan on Monday that would require mandatory surgery for every American, and he has bipartisan support for it, thats a much more specific news tip, and Id rather my friend just not tell me and save me the heartburn. They can only control what their employees do, and thats why they have those rules, and not much leeway for people who dont adhere to them. Its no worse than our organization doesnt protect classified information no matter how badly an employee disregards policies. I admit to being incredibly curious as well. Negative emotions are a learning toolfeeling guilty is very uncomfortable, so we dont repeat the behavior that led to the feeling guilty. And you did it over company lines. 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. How Should You Respond to an Accidental HIPAA Violation? I supervise a manager who falsified an employee write-up but I dont think she should be fired. I was coming to the comments section to say the same thing. I, too, have made foolish mistakes that cost me a job. Not all non-public information is expected to be treated like a state secret, assuming youre not dealing with actual classified information or NDAs. That oh honey is so unnecessary, and questioning LWs age is just rude. They made much more money off of the JK Rowling name. One of my favorite shows had a plotline about a sibling not liking someone not breaking doctor confidentiality. But given the kind of convo LW describes.while the LW really should not have been surprised they got reported and then fired, and does seem to be downplaying the severity, I wonder if something about the convo led them to believe it was somehow less serious than the mentor clearly understood it to be, and mentor didnt seem to do anything to help the LW understand how big a deal this is, which is kind of a bummer. She was understandably very uncomfortable with what I did, and we had a very nice conversation about our duties as communication officers, and trust, etc. Resist the temptation to gossip about fellow employees and don't express your disdain for your. You did wrong, fessed up, and got fired anyway. This makes it seem like they owe LW something, to be loving and release her to her best life. It makes the sender aware of their mistake and less likely to bother you again in the future. People do stupid or extreme things all the time; their lives dont end, but they *can* be turning points for a downward spiral. I recall a year or so into this administration at least a couple federal departments making A Big Deal out of leaks because it seemed like every other story (usually negative) was quoting an anonymous source sharing sensitive information they werent authorized to release. picture of male guinea fowl . 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. Im just explaining that the information was likely a non-public record and not a confidential record. For me, it was like OK, she shared embargoed information something she shouldnt have. Actually advertising is not going to be any better. OP, please do not take this comment string seriously, because internalizing these statements will severely harm your ability to address your error effectively. You can bounce back! 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 your actions that are right, wrong, or in that confusing gray area, and what you feel doesnt have to dictate what you do. Concepts like snitching, tattling, and ratting out dont apply in the workplace. 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. I wouldnt be surprised if there was a state or federal regulation that she violated by sharing that information. . The employer has a policy against this and everyone working there has signed that they read the policy. I think interviewers will pick up on the equivocation in your language here. 10 Ways to Rebound From an Embarrassing Email Mistake Thank you for following up with Alison and here in the comments, and Im sorry for what youre going through. Since you touched on it in your follow-up, OP, dont look at this as not getting a second chance. You are its just going to happen at another organization. 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. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. But, bald facts, they told you not to do the thing you turned around and did. Of course, it wasnt your mistake and youre under no legal obligation to do anything at all. How is an ETF fee calculated in a trade that ends in less than a year? You breached confidential information to a journalist. What!!! Confidentiality is not just an issue in communications. I do a lot of trade shows and we always remind booth staff of what to say (talk points) and what not to say to trade journalists. I felt as defensive and upset as you. LW doesnt seem defensive at all here, and its okay to feel upset while still taking ownership of their actions. My only other advice is to consider if there were any conversations on slack that were inappropriate. 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. You violated your contract so your previous employer had little choice but to let you go - your new employer will understand this but if you show them you've accepted responsibility for it and will make sure never to do that again then I think you've got a good chance of getting another position. But leadership has to know that if they share confidential material with us that it will stay confidential. There are many ways to say thing like this without lying. Confiding in an older mentor in the expectation of confession-like confidentiality? LW, please, please look hard at what happened and how you can promise yourself first of all that this was the last time. My guess is that the LW was fired for a first offense because they refused to take responsibility for their breach. "Even if it were, transmitting some personal data by email does not of itself breach data protection laws in any jurisdiction" Actually in the UK the Data Protection Act would apply as it is being transmitted outside of the company without the express authorisation from the data subject. Based on it happening before GSA was born, this most likely happened on a land line. Telling the trusted friend was the fireable offense. She was an employee of the agency, who shared it with the journalist. Thats the person were gonna call the blabbermouth in this situation? A good . We all make stupid mistakes. That was the profound breach of the OPs duty. This was actually a very kind way to get this point across. If you break certain unspoken rules, you can lose your job or ruin your career. I have been fired for a dumb mistake. Or the surrounding land if its something that will raise property values. 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. Her best chance of moving forward and looking as good as possible in an interview is to accept full responsibility and say that she made a mistake and learned from it. but if you mess up and by the skin of your teeth get away with it, just DO NOT talk about it with anyone at the company. An employee who doesn't know about a policy important enough to fire someone over is just a ticking time bomb to an employer. I guess you just say I inadvertently let an important piece of information get out and I will take extraordinary safeguards to never let that happen again. Later when I moved on, it became my absolute best interview topic when asked about a mistake and how I handled it. If that got into the wrong hands it could even result in the end of civilization. It can, should, and does happen, depending on the details of what all happened. The issue of whether HIPAA information can be emailed is complicated. No, not if its classified or embargoed. This may have been part of why the manager took the steps she did. 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. but to start the process of damage control. No, no, no, no, no. (i hope this story still makes sense with all identifying details purged, but hopefully its clear from context uh why i am purging all those details smdh) I am replying under Engineer Girl for a reason. (Im a journalist, there are only a few specific cardinal sins in our industry, so lets euphemistically call this a case of inadequate attribution.) If I were you, I would examine WHY I decided to tell my journalist friend the info. It's really just a 30 . For me, that was it. If you live in a place where its illegal to shoot guns into the air, and you shoot a gun into the air and the bullet does not actually kill anyone in its fall, you have still broken the law and placed others in danger. This violates workplace compliance and trust. If the friend had blabbed, shed have been fired, anyway, even without confiding in the senior employee. Agreed. Sometimes that PHI belongs to people I know. Remember to be kind to yourself: youre human, you made a mistake and, as you said, youve learned from it. Really? This is how old I am. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has also issued a written rebuke to Christopher Gossage, of Russells solicitors, who confided to his wifes best friend that Robert Galbraith, author of The Cuckoos Calling, was really one of the most famous and wealthy authors in the world. None of this makes you a bad person, untrustworthy, or unemployable. There are people who would refuse to acknowledge their error and go about their lives being bitter and blaming others. Maybe she had to report it for her job (as some people are speculating) but even still, its okay to be annoyed at someone even if its not 100% logical. All we can do is learn, rest, and go on another day. You made a mistake. OP thinks she was super discreet in texting her friend. If you cant maintain confidentiality, you can work elsewhere. Say I have a friend working on a presidential campaign, and she tells me theres a bunch of debate about the candidates strategy, I have to decide whether to mention that to my colleague who covers the candidate. People find new jobs after being fired all the time. High-profile thing the president wanted and agency employees opposed isnt going to happen Accidentally received confidential email | Email DLP You can get through this, but be honest with yourself! Maybe OPs workplace does the same? Oh, I wish Id seen this before replying. Thank you for saying that feelings are never wrong. It can take down evil people who mean to do others harm. I am now going to assume that its exactly that. Once info is out in the community, you have no control over where it goes and any and all ramifications. It makes her someone with morals and a respect for her employer. Find somewhere else to tell it in order to release the steam valve. I have a friend whose mother did work for an intelligence agency during WW2. You hear something genuinely classified and blab it too because its so cool? If I were in the coworkers position, I would need to do the same thing. 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. Employees can't just post anything they want on Facebook or anywhere else. If theyd covered up for her/not removed her access to confidential info and she did it again, their jobs would be on the line too the next time. +10. Alison, I really liked your advice, because it can apply to any situation where the person has truly done something egregious but has to move on. Maybe you let them know more then they should even without meaning too? I would feel terrible about it, definitely, and probably think about it for a while after, but ultimately, Id need to prioritize my family and act in a way that would protect my job/salary/health insurance so I could continue to provide for my them. You unpromptedly wrote a message to the friend. This type of thing could have easily happened to your journalism friend in the office. Your comment above is much closer to an effective track. The actual problem is that OP shared confidential information. Hopefully there still something to be said for that! Im not understanding how OPs update comment reads as defensiveit shows significant progression from deflection to ownership, to me. Im sure he knew about things that he would have liked to talk about, and my dad can talk about anything to anyone at great length. Contact the GDPR manager at once. This isnt breaking a rule; its potentially putting your organization in jeopardy. But you see that now I hope. journalists dont leak information, unless its something confidential about their own employers. I agree, but its been called out and I dont want to derail on it. Its very possible that LW could think what happened to me wasnt totally fair and still accept full responsibility for it during interviews (which is obviously the smart thing to do). Thats pretty ratty behavior. Its like pain (heck, it IS pain); its telling you something important. You seriously violated your privileged access to confidential information. Forgetting to attach a mentioned attachment is common, but still embarrassing. The OPs comment here didnt seem defensive to me at all, and its definitely understandable that the letter was written in the heat of the moment. If youve no idea who the message was supposed to go to, simply let the sender know you received it by accident and move on. As others mentioned, the breach is possibly a fire on first offense potential, but since they fired you after investigating slack that makes me wonder if you had too casual and friendly of chats with the journalists whose job it was for you to talk with. We call this a misdirected email and it's really, really easy to do. I would argue if you acknowledge your error in judgment, it would work more to your benefit, then classifying it as a one-off mistake and overreaction by your company. She can still apply to jobs in her field, and even in the fields you noted, shell just have to be very clear in interviews that she understands why she was fired from this job and how shell work to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. That said, I am curious if theres other context that explains why they fired you for a first offense without warning you first. Im also miffed by the fact that the coworker kinda blind sided OP. If it bleeds, it leads, and if its not bleeding, you might as well kick it a few times to see if itll start bleeding Nope. e.g. A major penalty for breach of confidentiality is termination of employment. This. There are, unfortunately, many things I am doomed to not know even though I would really like to find out. Just a bad situation. What you did was misconduct. Box-ticking SA&T wont change security behaviors. 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. I used to handle accounts, but could not handle my own. how do I get out of an active-shooter drill at my office? I am in this place when I read OPs response. Practically everything I do in my job is confidential to some degree. And not even trusting her not to publish it, but what if SHE got so excited by the news, just as LW did, that she just had to tell someone, and she picked someone that she trusted implicitly, and told them in strict confidence. The communications person from the Marine Band was immediately fired when it was discovered she had leaked this information. Rule 1.6 Confidentiality of Information - Comment Dont blame your colleague she may have been obligated to report this. Yes, this was a fireable offence, but Im less interested in the nuances of violating confidentiality than in the bigger picture question I have done something where I really screwed up how do I move on? (Someone above mentioned someone bringing a gun to work (Dwight? See Rule 1.2 (d). Here's how you fix that horrible email blunder on the job - New York Post
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