Privacy Baby Steps
On Saturday, May 7, 2022, the Act to Amend the Civil Rights Law, in Relation to Electronic Monitoring went into effect in the state of New York. The Act expands the privacy protections in the employment setting.
This expansion of privacy rights is important because the privacy rights granted in the US state privacy laws, active and pending, tend to exempt the employer-employee relationship. Therefore, the rights that are granted to consumers are greater than the rights granted to employees. So, employee AA, who works for Company A and shops at Company B has more privacy rights in his relationship with Company B than in his relationship with Company A.
Let’s take a closer look at the rights that the law grants to employees.
The law is targeted towards employers that are engaged in electronically monitoring their employees. The law requires that those employers provide notice to employees of the monitoring.
It states:
- (A) Any employer who monitors or otherwise intercepts telephone conversations or transmissions, electronic mail or transmissions, or internet access or usage of or by an employee by any electronic device or system … shall give prior written notice upon hiring to all employees who are subject to electronic monitoring.
The law also requires that the employer receive an acknowledgment from the employee that they’ve been notified of the monitoring. The employers need to place a physical notice of electronic monitoring in a conspicuous place which is viewable by the employees who are subject to electronic monitoring.
Even though the law expands privacy rights to employees in their workplaces, it doesn’t have particularly painful enforcement provisions. Employers that violate the law can be fined up to $500 for their first violation, $1,000 for their second violation, and $3,000 for their third violation and any after that.
Privacy is increasingly becoming part of the conversation, whether around Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, state privacy laws, or GDPR. Being ready to handle the privacy challenges that are heading your way is becoming very important. At Clarip, we help companies comply with state privacy laws and the General Data Protection Regulation, as well as other data privacy laws internationally. We provide data subject request fulfillment, data mapping, vendor management, consent management, website scanning, and much, much more. Visit us at www.clarip.com or call us at 1-888-252-5653 to learn more.
Email Now:
Mike Mango, VP of Sales
mmango@clarip.com