NCJ Number
133463
Journal
Security Management Volume: 35 Issue: 11 Dated: (November 1991) Pages: 26,29-30,32,35
Date Published
1991
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article reviews issues in the debate over the extent to which employers should be allowed to conduct surveillance of employees in the interest of business security and then presents various views on bills in Congress that address this problem.
Abstract
Technological advances have provided employers with a variety of means to monitor employees for the purposes of increasing productivity and reducing illegal employee activity. Employees are concerned that such surveillance will violate their privacy. Congressional legislation currently under consideration (H.R. 1218 and S. 516) would severely restrict electronic monitoring of workers. In the interest of protecting employee privacy, these bills would require companies to notify employees in writing that they will be monitored and to signal to employees when they are actually being monitored. Although geared to productivity monitoring, these requirements could limit the effectiveness of such security measures as the reading of employees' electronic mail, listening in on employees' phone conversations, the accessing of employees' hard drives, the monitoring of employees through networked computers, the tracking of employees with electronic badges, and the monitoring of employees with video cameras or closed-circuit TV. In most cases, business security will not be undermined by the requirement that employees be informed about employers' monitoring practices. This can have a preventive effect.