Across the United States, employers are expanding the use of digital surveillance tools that were first adopted during the pandemic. College administrators have accessed students’ personal essays, managers have measured the length of pharmacists’ appointments, and warehouse scanners now monitor the speed at which workers inspect items.
How the technology works
Modern software can track an employee’s location, task completion rates, and even the camera feeds on work‑issued smartphones and laptops. Advances in artificial intelligence allow companies to compile extensive data sets—sometimes called “dossiers”—that can be used to evaluate performance or predict future behavior.
Workers speak out
Pharmacist Lannie Duong described how her clinic recorded the minutes she spent on each patient call. “Everything was counted. The minutiae of it was ridiculous,” she said, adding that the pressure left her feeling “not trusted, not appreciated, almost completely hopeless.” After taking medical leave, Duong’s employment was terminated, prompting her to volunteer with other pharmacists seeking union representation.
College writing instructor Arianna Anaya discovered that administrators were reading the private comments she made on student papers uploaded to the school’s learning‑management system. The students often wrote about sensitive topics such as abuse and family trauma. Anaya’s contract was not renewed months later, and she said the experience left her feeling paranoid and unsafe.
Legal landscape varies by state
Several states—New York, Connecticut, Delaware and Maine—require employers to notify workers when they are being monitored. Maine’s law goes further, prohibiting visual monitoring in an employee’s home or personal vehicle unless it is essential to the job. Privacy and AI compliance manager Edward Halle noted that the line between a legitimate job‑related camera (e.g., a telehealth nurse) and a productivity webcam is still being defined by the Department of Labor.
What employees can do
Experts advise workers to research whether their industry commonly uses surveillance tools and to ask their employers directly what data is being collected. Aiha Nguyen of the Labor Futures Initiative suggests starting with questions like, “How is this information being used within the company?” and “Might it leave the organization?” If a union is present, coordinating with it can provide additional leverage.
When possible, employees should avoid handling personal or family matters on work‑issued devices, as those tools can be accessed by employer‑controlled software. Switching to a personal phone or computer for sensitive communications can reduce the risk of unintended data exposure.
Looking ahead
Wilneida Negrón, director of research and policy at Coworker, a nonprofit that helps workers organize, warned that “the forces of centralizing this kind of tracking and monitoring are moving too fast.” She urged workers to come together, whether through unions or informal groups, to push for greater transparency and safeguards.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
