Feds Warn Businesses About Invasive Employee Monitoring
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released an official statement warning employers about using invasive employee monitoring in the workplace. Their complaints include companies potentially using the data to stifle union organizing efforts, predict resignations, and influence decisions about promotion or hiring.
Consent and Privacy Intrusion a Large Part of CFPB Warning
The CFPB guidance centers on employees being tracked and monitored without their consent with intense surveillance. A good example is Amazon’s decision to install cameras inside its delivery vans; while the move was advertised as a safety measure, lawmakers and critics considered it intrusive surveillance.
Tracking Personal Devices Bad for Privacy & Company Security
One of the concerns the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has around employee surveillance is tracking apps installed on employees’ personal devices. This isn’t just a problem for employee privacy but also for the business itself, as staff won’t have controlled security on personal devices to protect company data. The best practice is to always provide your team with the devices they need to conduct business, including a smartphone and a computer.
The CFPB cites the ability to track personal information, financial information, location data, and other information outside of the business as a concern with the installation of tracking apps on personal devices. Tracking apps should not be installed on personal devices at businesses with Bring Your Own Device policies.
Consequences for Employers Who Overstep
Technically, the CFPB only provides guidance and cannot take any enforcement action against employers. However, employees themselves and other agencies that enforce worker’s rights may take legal or other enforcement action in extreme cases.
Several attempts have been made to outlaw some aspects of workplace monitoring at the federal and state levels, but these have generally failed, with the exception of when such technologies are used to skirt labor laws. As AI evolves, regulatory bodies may try to limit its use in employee surveillance, but we’re not there yet.
Prodoscore Offers Transparent and Non-Invasive Monitoring
While there are situations and organizations where monitoring apps are likely necessary, consent and privacy are still critical. For knowledge workers, the value of a monitoring solution comes from the data it can surface.
When you install Prodoscore, your employees know it is there and are involved in the process. They get access to their productivity data for self-coaching purposes and transparency. The solution is simple to install, requiring no input from end users and captures business data only.
Additionally, all team members gain access to data that informs smarter decisions about people, processes, and technology.
Prodoscore is an AI-powered data intelligence and employee productivity monitoring solution that encourages a positive work culture, improves employee engagement, and monitors in the background without invasive techniques like keystroke logging or screenshots.
