California Senate Passes Workplace Surveillance Bill
California senators voted 27-10 Tuesday to pass a bill meant to limit workplace surveillance. The bill, which appropriators recently cleared (see 2505230062), will now cross to the Assembly.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
SB-238 would require employers to annually report on workplace surveillance tools they use. The California Department of Industrial Relations must make that notice available on its website as part of the bill. Businesses wouldn’t have to report tools used exclusively for basic IT functions like spam filters or antivirus, however.
Under the bill, an employer that started using a workplace surveillance tool before Jan. 1, 2026, is required to provide the notice before Feb. 1 of that year. Notices must contain information including the name and model of the surveillance tool, who made the tool and who will run, manage or interpret the personal information that is gathered, as well as if the tool will affect consumers in addition to workers.
Moreover, the business must explain what personal information the tool will collect from workers or consumers and whether those individuals can opt out.
Also, employers must list everyone who will gain access to the information and whether they have disclosed use of the tool to affected workers and consumers.
The California Federation of Labor Unions said the bill will increase transparency, according to a May 25 Senate bill analysis. However, the California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) argued that it would require businesses to report too much about workplace operations, possibly including security information that could provide a roadmap to bad actors about how to exploit companies’ systems.