Is Your Employer Electronically Monitoring You? Soon They’ll Have To Tell You if They Are

Did you know that there is absolutely no federal law in the United States which requires an employer to notify employees if they are being monitored?

Get our free mobile app

As a matter of fact, under US Federal Laws, employers have every right to keep a close watch on their employees as they are carrying out their job duties. However, starting in 2022, employers in the state of New York will be required by law to inform any person they plan to employ if the company is monitoring their activities.

In November of 2021 New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law that will require all employers in the state of New York, whether they are a big employer with many employees or a small employer with only a handful of employees, to provide notice to employees before they engage in any workplace monitoring.

The law states that employers will be required to provide notice in writing before they conduct any electronic monitoring of telephone, email, or internet access or usage.

Once the law officially goes into effect, any employer who electronically monitors their employees without giving employees advance notice will be found in violation of the law. The New York Attorney General will be given the right to step in and enforce the law.

Employers found to be in violation face a maximum penalty of five hundred dollars for the first offense, one thousand dollars for the second offense, and three thousand dollars for the third and any additional offenses.

The New York state electronic monitoring law applies only to private companies in the state and will go into effect on  May 7, 2022.