Law Commons^™

Essential Jobs, Remote Work And Digital Surveillance: Addressing The Covid-19 Pandemic Panopticon, Antonio Aloisi, Valerio De Stefano

All Papers

An unprecedented COVID-19-induced explosion in digital surveillance has reconfigured power relationships in professional settings. This article critically concentrates on the interplay between technology-enabled intrusive monitoring and the augmentation of 1

managerial prerogatives in physical and digital workplaces. It identifies excessive supervision as the common denominator of “essential” and “remotable” activities, besides discussing the various drawbacks faced by the two categories of workers during (and after) the pandemic. It also assesses the adequacy of the current European Union legal framework in addressing the expansion of data-driven management. Social dialogue, workers’ empowerment and digital literacy are identified as effective solutions to promote …

Systematic Ict Surveillance By Employers: Are Your Personal Activities Private?, Arlene J. Nicholas

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

This paper reviews the various methods of information and communications technology (ICT) that is used by employers to peer into the work lives and, in some cases, private lives of employees. Some of the most common methods – such as computer and Internet monitoring, video surveillance, and global positioning systems (GPS) – have resulted in employee disciplines that have been challenged in courts. This paper provides background information on United States (U.S.) laws and court cases which, in this age of easily accessible information, mostly support the employer. Assessments regarding regulations and policies, which will need to be continually updated …

The Benefit Of Adopting Comprehensive Standards Of Monitoring Employee Technology Use In The Workplace, Karin M. Mika

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This article will examine issues as they relate to the privacy of employees’ lives given that nearly everything can be discovered by some form of electronic monitoring. It will posit that most laws as they exist today do little to apprise either the employer or the employee as to what type of electronic monitoring of personal communications is acceptable. It will further propose that most employer policies related to scrutinizing employee electronic communications are vague and unsuitable. The article will conclude that, given the leeway employers tend to be given (often justifiably so) in monitoring employees there is little chance …

Privacy In The Workplace: Are Collective Bargaining Agreements A Place To Start Formulating More Uniform Standards?, Karin Mika

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This paper discusses ambiguities related to laws in employee privacy and posits that this is problematic for both employers and employees. The article discusses how private employers have almost no restrictions when it comes to employee monitoring, especially when there is an announced (albeit vague) policy. The article then suggests that unions have at least some negotiating power in terms of setting standards for when an employee may be disciplined and thus, labor unions have at least a modicum of power in negotiating clear rules regarding employee monitoring. The paper further suggests that clear policies aren't a bad thing, and …