ABA Family Legal Guide

Law and the Workplace

On the Job

Privacy in the Workplace

Can employers use video cameras to monitor workers?

In general, yes, if the monitoring is for security or antitheft purposes and employees are advised of the surveillance. The NLRA, however, prohibits employer surveillance of employee union activity, discussions about unions, or union meetings. In addition, if a union represents employees, an employer is required to bargain with the union before instituting workplace surveillance.

Some state laws regulate the extent to which an employer can monitor workers. For example, Connecticut prohibits surveillance or monitoring "in areas designed for the health or personal comfort of the employees or for the safeguarding of their possessions, such as rest rooms, locker rooms or lounges." Moreover, state tort law may protect employees against highly offensive intrusions upon privacy in a place where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. For example, monitoring an employee bathroom may be considered an invasion of privacy.

If the video camera also records audio, laws that regulate the interception of oral communication will also apply. The federal wiretap law prohibits the recording of oral communication, as do many state laws.