Employers increasingly monitor staff with digital tools, prompting privacy concerns and calls for collective action
Experts warn that a surge in workplace surveillance—using AI, location tracking and device cameras—has eroded employee privacy and may require union organizing.
A wave of surveillance tools adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic is now being used to monitor employees' whereabouts, productivity and communications across a range of industries. Advances in artificial intelligence enable employers to assemble extensive data profiles that can be used for disciplinary actions or behavioral predictions, according to Wilneida Negrón of the nonprofit Coworker. Real-world examples include a pharmacist whose appointment durations were logged and an adjunct professor whose student submissions were reviewed by administrators, both of which led to job insecurity.
While some companies disclose their monitoring practices and involve employee boards, many operate opaque scoring systems. State laws in Delaware, New York, Connecticut and Maine require notification, but enforcement remains uneven. Experts advise workers to investigate what data is collected, limit personal use of work devices, and consider collective action through unions to protect privacy.
