Bill would prohibit employer surveillance

New York lawmakers are considering a bill that would prohibit employer surveillance of employees and impose penalties for violations.

A.B. 8917, introduced Wednesday, states that an employer would be barred from using workplace surveillance tools to monitor or surveil workers in private, off-duty areas, such as bathrooms, cafeterias, and lounges, and to monitor or surveil a worker’s residence, a worker’s personal vehicle, or property owned, leased, or used by a worker, unless that surveillance is “strictly necessary.”

The bill would also prohibit an employer from requiring a worker to “physically implant a device that collects or transmits data, including a device that is installed subcutaneously in the body.”

In addition to “any other remedy,” the bill states a violating employer would be subject to a civil penalty of $500 per employee for each offense.