Insights

Workplace Surveillance and Your Privacy Rights as an Employee

Most employers have wide latitude to monitor work, but that latitude is not unlimited. Email on company systems, activity on company devices, and security cameras in public areas of a workplace are generally fair game. Other forms of monitoring run into real legal limits, and surveillance can become unlawful when it targets people based on who they are or what they reported.

What employers can usually monitor

Email and messages sent through company accounts and systems
Internet and application use on company owned devices
Phone calls on company lines, with notice in many cases
Cameras in open work areas and entrances

Where the lines are

Recording private conversations can run afoul of wiretapping laws. Cameras in bathrooms, locker rooms, or other private spaces are off limits. Tracking a personal device or accessing a private, password protected account without authorization can create liability. Monitoring that singles out employees of a certain race, age, or other protected group, or that follows a complaint, raises discrimination and retaliation issues.

Monitoring used as a weapon

Surveillance sometimes appears suddenly after an employee reports harassment or files a complaint. When an employer starts scrutinizing your every keystroke only after you speak up, that change can support a retaliation claim. The same goes for productivity tracking applied to one group and not others.

Notice and policy

New Jersey requires employers to give written notice before tracking employees in vehicles with electronic devices, and many monitoring practices are governed by company policy. Read your handbook so you know what you have agreed to.

If monitoring feels targeted

Keep records of when the monitoring started and what prompted it. If it began after a complaint or applies only to you, talk to an attorney about whether it is being used to push you out.

At John J. Zidziunas & Associates, LLC, our employment attorneys represent workers across New Jersey and the New York City area, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau County, and Suffolk County. If you believe your rights at work have been violated, call us at (973) 509-8500 or contact us to set up a free consultation. We represent employees on a contingency fee basis.

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