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CWA Helps Draft Video Privacy Bill
A CWA-backed bill to ban video and audio monitoring of employee bathrooms and changing areas was introduced in the House Sept. 29 with the bipartisan support of lead sponsor Tom Petri (R-Wis.) and co-sponsor Rob Andrews (D-N.J.).
CWA brought the issue to the attention of the two congressman and helped draft the measure, the Employee Freedom from Invasion of Privacy Act, H.R. 5181. Petri and Andrews both serve on the Education and the Workforce Committee.
Representative Petri offered examples of workplace privacy abuses in remarks published in the Congressional Record, noting that "the Wall Street Journal reported that 19 locomotive engineers sued their employer in Oakland County (Michigan) Circuit Court, charging that their employer had hidden a camera in a locker-room exit sign."
Further, "A worker at a state college was shocked to discover that her employer had secretly videotaped her changing her clothes in her office after work. A waitress at a restaurant was spied upon in the employee changing room when she got dressed for work," Petri stated.
The bill provides for penalties of up to $10,000 for each employer violation and gives the Secretary of Labor power to seek injunctive relief. It does not prohibit court-sanctioned surveillance by law enforcement authorities in cases of criminal activity.
While there is little time in this congressional session to move the bill, Petri and Andrews wanted to highlight the issue of workplace monitoring abuses now, and they plan to reintroduce the measure next year, said CWA's Chief Lobbyist Lou Gerber, who serves as administrative assistant to Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling.
"We read about these privacy invasions all the time, and yet most people are surprised to know that there simply aren't any laws against this type of workplace abuse," said Gerber.
CWA brought the issue to the attention of the two congressman and helped draft the measure, the Employee Freedom from Invasion of Privacy Act, H.R. 5181. Petri and Andrews both serve on the Education and the Workforce Committee.
Representative Petri offered examples of workplace privacy abuses in remarks published in the Congressional Record, noting that "the Wall Street Journal reported that 19 locomotive engineers sued their employer in Oakland County (Michigan) Circuit Court, charging that their employer had hidden a camera in a locker-room exit sign."
Further, "A worker at a state college was shocked to discover that her employer had secretly videotaped her changing her clothes in her office after work. A waitress at a restaurant was spied upon in the employee changing room when she got dressed for work," Petri stated.
The bill provides for penalties of up to $10,000 for each employer violation and gives the Secretary of Labor power to seek injunctive relief. It does not prohibit court-sanctioned surveillance by law enforcement authorities in cases of criminal activity.
While there is little time in this congressional session to move the bill, Petri and Andrews wanted to highlight the issue of workplace monitoring abuses now, and they plan to reintroduce the measure next year, said CWA's Chief Lobbyist Lou Gerber, who serves as administrative assistant to Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Easterling.
"We read about these privacy invasions all the time, and yet most people are surprised to know that there simply aren't any laws against this type of workplace abuse," said Gerber.