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Calif. Assembly Backs E-Mail Monitoring Disclosure

Yahoo! News - Calif. Assembly Backs E-Mail Monitoring Disclosure

Tue Aug 17, 7:46 PM
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's Assembly on Tuesday voted to require the state's employers to inform their workers in writing if e-mail and other Internet activity is monitored at work.

If it becomes law, supporters said the bill would place the state at the forefront of protecting employee privacy online and may serve as a model for similar bills in other states.

Critics said it would burden employers and is unnecessary because employees already assume online activities at work are monitored. Business groups also opposed the bill because any violation of it would be considered a misdemeanor.

The legislation, sponsored by Debra Bowen, a Democrat from Redondo Beach, California, was modeled on a state regulation requiring employers to disclose whether they monitor employee telephone calls.

The Assembly, which is the lower house of the California legislature, passed the bill with a 42-30 vote.

The bill must go to the state Senate for a final vote, and it requires Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites)'s signature to become law. A spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger's office said he had not taken a position on the bill.

Connecticut has a law similar to Bowen's bill, but it requires employers who electronically monitor employees to put a notice in a conspicuous place where workers may read it.

Minnesota considered, but did not pass, a law that would have required notice before employers monitor workers electronically.

Massachusetts is considering a bill to require employers who engage in any electronic monitoring to provide prior written notice to all employees, customers or consumers who may be affected.

August 18, 2004 at 03:11 PM in email | Permalink | TrackBack (11) | Top of page | Blog Home