Workplace Monitoring Gets Personal, and Employees Fear It’s Too Close for Comfort. They’re Right.
Companies are increasingly tapping into new technology designed to keep a close eye on employees. This monitoring goes beyond traditional security cameras to include portable devices worn by workers, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Reporter Robert Reed writes that some employers are getting really high-tech with following their workers, such as using time clocks that can an employee’s fingerprint, retina or iris.
“Some workers are ticked off about it and fighting back. Up to 30 class-action lawsuits were filed by late 2017 accusing companies of violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which governs how such sensitive information is collected and used,” according to Reed.
Reed also raises the possibility that employers could even provide Fitbits or another portable health monitor as part of a corporate wellness program. “Can the personal data gleaned be used to alter, or deny, access to employer-provided insurance plans?,” he asks.