Prohibits employers from using workplace surveillance tools to surveil employees in private, off-duty areas or a worker's residence, vehicle or property; defines terms; establishes penalties for violations of such provisions.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8917
SPONSOR: Valdez TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to prohibiting the surveil-
lance of workers in private, off-duty areas or a worker's residence,
vehicle or property
PURPOSE:
To limit the use of workplace surveillance tools in off-duty areas and
during non-work hours; to establish available relief for a violation of
this section.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Adds § 45 to the labor law.
§ 45.1 provides definitions for this section, including: authorized
representative; employer; worker; worker data; workplace surveillance
tool.
§ 45.2 establishes limitations on employer use of surveillance tools:
prohibits employers from surveilling/monitoring workers in private and
off-duty areas, limits the surveillance/monitoring of property owned,
leased or used by a worker to that which is strictly necessary. Allows
workers to disable surveillance tools worn on their person during off-
duty hours and in off-duty areas. Prohibits employers from requiring
workers to physically implant a device that collects or transmits data
on their person.
§ 45.3 prohibits employer retaliation against a worker for exercising
their rights under this section. Establishes a civil penalty for a
violation of this section and a right of action for a worker against an
employer determined by the labor commissioner to be in violation and
provides for relief including punitive damages and attorney fees.
Authorizes the labor commissioner to enforce this section, order appro-
priate temporary relief, issue citations and pursue civil action.
Authorizes public prosecutors to pursue civil action in response to a
violation of this section.
§ 45.4 provides that this section should not be interpreted to preempt
or supersede any local law, rule or regulation.
§ 45.5 establishes a severability provision
§ 45.6 provides that nothing in this section should be interpreted to
limit the authority of public attorneys to pursue legal action for a
violation of this section.
JUSTIFICATION:
The introduction of surveillance technology in the workplace calls for
corresponding policy to secure privacy rights, while maintaining safe
and productive working conditions. A 2024 report from the U.S. Govern-
ment Accountability Office ("Digital Surveillance of Workers: Tools,
Uses and Stakeholder Perspectives") found a number of concerning trends
in the implementation of workplace surveillance tools.
Employers may require workers to install software that gives managers
access to their computer cameras and microphones while they are at home.
Wearable technology employed in factories and warehouses has reportedly
been used to compile data on and deter workers engaged in labor organiz-
ing and union activity. Without proper regulation, these surveillance
tools raise serious questions regarding digital and bodily privacy, as
workers do not currently have the positive right to disable monitoring
devices - whether before using the restroom at work, or during hours
they are not working at all.
As these tools engender an atmosphere of constant surveillance, workers
report decreased morale and feeling distrusted by employers, with nega-
tive impact on their mental health and productivity. This bill repres-
ents a modest, common sense initiative to allow workers to disable work-
place surveillance tools during non-work hours and while in off-duty
areas.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Effective immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8917
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
July 16, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. VALDEZ -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to prohibiting the surveil-
lance of workers in private, off-duty areas or a worker's residence,
vehicle or property
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 45 to read
2 as follows:
3 § 45. Workplace surveillance of employees; prohibition. 1. For the
4 purposes of this section:
5 a. "Authorized representative" means a person or organization
6 appointed by the worker to serve as an agent of the worker; provided,
7 however, that "authorized representative" does not mean a worker's
8 employer.
9 b. "Employer" means a person who directly or indirectly, or through an
10 agent or any other person, employs or exercises control over the wages,
11 benefits, other compensation, hours, working conditions, access to work
12 or job opportunities, or other terms or conditions of employment, of any
13 worker. "Employer" includes an employer's labor contractor.
14 c. "Worker" means a natural person or that person's authorized repre-
15 sentative acting as a job applicant to, an employee of, or an independ-
16 ent contractor providing service to, or through, a business or a state
17 or local governmental entity in a workplace.
18 d. "Worker data" means any information that identifies, relates to,
19 describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could
20 reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a worker, regardless
21 of how the information is collected, inferred, or obtained.
22 e. "Workplace surveillance tool" means a system, application, instru-
23 ment, or device that collects or facilitates the collection of worker
24 data, activities, communications, actions, biometrics, or behaviors, or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13386-01-5
A. 8917 2
1 those of the public, by means other than direct observation by a person,
2 including, but not limited to, video or audio surveillance, electronic
3 work pace tracking, geolocation, electromagnetic tracking, photoelec-
4 tronic tracking, or utilization of a photo-optical system or other
5 means.
6 2. a. An employer shall not use a workplace surveillance tool to do
7 either of the following:
8 (i) Monitor or surveil workers in private, off-duty areas, including,
9 but not limited to, bathrooms, locker rooms, changing areas, breakrooms,
10 smoking areas, lactation spaces, employee cafeterias, and lounges,
11 including data collection on the frequency of use of those private
12 areas; or
13 (ii) Monitor or surveil a worker's residence, a worker's personal
14 vehicle, or property owned, leased, or used by a worker, unless that
15 surveillance is strictly necessary.
16 b. Workplace surveillance tools shall be disabled during off-duty
17 hours, including rest and break periods, including in a worker's resi-
18 dence, personal vehicle, or property owned, leased, or used by a worker.
19 c. An employer shall not require a worker to physically implant a
20 device that collects or transmits data, including a device that is
21 installed subcutaneously in the body.
22 3. a. An employer shall not deny an employee the rights under this
23 section or discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, or in any
24 manner discriminate against an employee for using, or attempting to use,
25 the employee's rights under this section, filing a complaint with the
26 department or alleging a violation of this section, cooperating in an
27 investigation or prosecution of an alleged violation of this section, or
28 opposing any policy or practice or act that is prohibited by this
29 section.
30 b. In addition to any other remedy, an employer who violates this
31 section shall be subject to a civil penalty of five hundred dollars per
32 employee for each violation of this section; provided, however, that any
33 employee who has suffered a violation by an employer who has been issued
34 a citation pursuant to paragraph c of this subdivision may bring a civil
35 action in a court of competent jurisdiction for damages caused by such
36 violation, including punitive damages, and for reasonable attorney's
37 fees as part of the costs of any such action for damages. In any civil
38 action brought by such an employee for a violation by an employer, an
39 employee or the employee's exclusive representative may petition the
40 supreme court in any county wherein the violation is alleged to have
41 occurred, or wherein the person resides or transacts business, for
42 appropriate temporary or preliminary injunctive relief.
43 c. The commissioner shall be authorized to enforce this section,
44 including investigating an alleged violation, and ordering appropriate
45 temporary relief to mitigate a violation or maintain the status quo
46 pending the completion of a full investigation or hearing, including
47 issuing a citation against an employer who violates this section and
48 filing a civil action.
49 d. In addition to other remedies as may be provided by the laws of
50 this state or its subdivisions, any public prosecutor may also institute
51 an action for a violation of this section, including an action seeking
52 injunctive relief.
53 4. This section shall not be construed or interpreted to supersede or
54 preempt any provisions of local law, rules, or regulations.
55 5. If any provision of this section or its application is held inval-
56 id, such invalidity shall not affect any of the other provisions or
A. 8917 3
1 applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or
2 application.
3 6. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit the authority of
4 the attorney general, a district attorney, or a municipal attorney,
5 either upon their own complaint or the complaint of any person acting
6 for themselves or the general public, to prosecute actions, either civil
7 or criminal, for violations of this section, or to enforce the
8 provisions thereof independently and without specific direction of the
9 commissioner or the division.
10 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
