Labor and Employment practice group leader Matt Miller spoke to Buffalo Business First’s Katie Anderson about the new state employee monitoring law and what it means for employers monitoring their employees electronically.
It’s important for employers to know the specifics of this new law, as it goes into effect May 7th and can result in fines for businesses who do not comply. This new law requires employers to provide written notice to employees upon hiring and then once a year if they will be monitoring their electronic activities. This includes emails, phone conversations, and online activity.
“Many companies already were doing that, but they just weren’t telling their employees,” said Matthew Miller, partner at Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunningham LLC. “It’s something that’s already going on, and many employees are aware that they’re using an email that their employer is monitoring. This just puts everyone on written notice.”
The law would require employers to provide their employees with a form to sign acknowledging that they may be monitored. According to Matt Miller the law will allow for more transparency in the workplace and will help employers avoid privacy litigations.
This employee monitoring law, Matt considers, to be very employee-friendly and it doesn’t require too much extra from the employer either.
To read more about this new employee monitoring law read the Buffalo Business First article here.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the law please contact our labor and employment team.