The court stated that "Because the reasonableness of an expectation of privacy, as well as the appropriate standard for a search, is understood to
differ according to context, it is essential first to delineate the
boundaries of the workplace context. The workplace includes those areas and
items that are related to work and are generally within the employer's
control. At a hospital, for example, the hallways, cafeteria, offices,
desks, and file cabinets, among other areas, are all part of the workplace.
These areas remain part of the workplace context even if the employee has
placed personal items in them, such as a photograph placed in a desk or a
letter posted on an employee bulletin board." The court reasoned that the
workplace includes those areas and items that are related to work...

The court held that given the great variety of work environments, the question of whether an employee has a reasonable
expectation of privacy must be addressed on a case by case basis.
ANALYSIS: In O'Connor v. Ortega, the court ruled that in search cases
conducted by a public employer, the invasion of the employee's privacy
expectations must be weighed against the government's need for supervision,
control and efficiency in the workplace. The court remanded the case to
the District Court, to determine the justification for the search and
seizure and evaluate the reasonableness of the search and its scope.