Electronic evidence in disciplinary misconduct cases: issues of authentication and inclusion in case materials

The authors of the presented work investigate a complex of legal and procedural issues that arise in the process of using electronic data as evidence during various disciplinary offenses. The main focus is on two critical aspects: authentication (establishing authorship of the digital footprint) and legitimizing the procedure of including electronic information in case materials. It is noted that, in the context of the mass transition to remote work and the digitalization of personnel processes, the traditional norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation face challenges of anonymity and the ease of modifying digital information. The authors analyze the risks of recognizing electronic evidence as inadmissible and consider the balance between the employer's disciplinary authority and the employee's constitutional right to the confidentiality of correspondence. The work contains practical recommendations for improving local regulation acts, implementing algorithms for commission data recording, and using technical means of identification to ensure the employer's position is resilient in judicial instances. The methodological framework of the research is based on the dialectical method of cognition, combined with formal-legal and comparative-legal analysis. The authors apply a systematic approach to the study of digital data, integrating technical verification algorithms into the procedural environment of labor law, and also use the method of judicial interpretation when analyzing current practices of the courts of the Russian Federation. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the theoretical justification of the concept of "presumption of authorship" in labor relations when using individual authentication means. The authors propose a multi-level model for verifying the employee's digital profile, integrating technical data (logs and IP addresses) into the regulatory framework of labor relations, implemented through local regulation mechanisms. One of the key conclusions of the research is the proof of the necessity to legalize messengers as official communication channels in the Internal Labor Regulations to simplify judicial evidence. It is also established that an internal commission act, when complying with recording standards (for example, screenshots with metadata), is a sufficient procedural tool. A key condition for the admissibility of electronic data is the prior notification of the employee about the boundaries of corporate control.