Employee Monitoring: How Far Can Employers Go?
Jackson Lewis P.C.February 3, 2005
California LegislationIn response to the on-going debate about the appropriate limits of workplace monitoring, the California Legislature has attempted on several occasions to restrict employers from certain forms of employee monitoring. In 1998, for example, Assembly Bill 2303 added section 435 to the California Labor Code. Section 435 prohibits all employers (except the federal government) from making audio or video recordings of employees in a restroom, locker room, or room designated by the employer for changing clothes, unless authorized by court order.Last year, the California Legislature unsuccessfully attempted through Senate Bill 1841 to add section 436 to the California Labor Code. Senate Bill 1841 passed in both the Assembly and the Senate. However, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill, which would have required employers to give clear, one-time written notice to employees before adopting policies relating to electronic monitoring of telephones, internet usage, and other devices.In his veto message, Governor Schwarzenegger explained that the notice requirements of Senate Bill 1841 were too broad and did not define what constituted "proper" notice.
