California Senate Panel Hears Pros and Cons of Workplace Surveillance Bill
California senators weighed the merits of a workplace surveillance bill during a hearing Wednesday. Proponents praised AB-1331 for limiting monitoring of surveillance footage, while opponents argued that reducing surveillance could prompt a rise in crime and violence.
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"Employers today aren't just using cameras, they're using wearable trackers, facial recognition, speech monitoring and algorithmic surveillance to monitor workers at all times," Assemblymember Sade Elhawary (D), a bill sponsor, told the Senate Labor Committee. "This kind of monitoring isn't neutral. It increases stress, reduces job satisfaction and strips workers of their basic dignity."
AB-1331 will prohibit employers from "constantly monitoring" surveillance technology footage taken in certain areas where large numbers of employees gather, such as break rooms and cafeterias, Elhawary added.
Ivan Fernandez, representing the California Labor Federation, a bill co-sponsor, said if employers "can track and listen to every single conversation throughout the work day ... they can exercise extreme amounts of control over the workforce and can put down any attempts by workers to exercise their protected rights to organize and file complaints."
In addition to the labor group, nine other organizations supported the bill, including the California School Employees Association, the California Nurses Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
In opposition, Ashley Hoffman, on behalf of the California Chamber of Commerce, told the committee, "We respectfully disagree that an employee has the same right to privacy" in spaces like cafeterias and break rooms. "Our members have seen a lot of incidents ... including workplace violence" and theft, spurring the need for monitoring.
Similarly, Dorothy Johnson of the Association of California School Administrators mentioned safety. "We feel this bill could be detrimental to the safety of employees and those [vulnerable] populations in the school setting," she said (see 2503030037).
More than 30 other groups opposed the legislation, including TechNet, the League of California Cities and the California Retailers Association.
The measure previously passed the Assembly with a 55-15 vote (see 2506060018).