SAMPLE LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Need for newer and better laws to deal with
electronic monitoring in the workplace
The American workplace is being rapidly transformed into an electronic
office. As new technologies that are easy and inexpensive to install and
maintain continue to be developed, the rates of electronic monitoring in
this country have skyrocketed. In 1999 the percentage of employers who
electronically monitor their workers was 67%. Current figures show
monitoring continuing to grow, with 78% of American workers being subjected
to some form of electronic monitoring according to the American Management
Association. At this rate of growth virtually all businesses will engage in
some form of electronic monitoring in the near future.
These problems are made worse by the manner in which monitoring is generally
conducted. For example, most employers make no effort to avoid monitoring
personal communications. In fact, the majority of employers install systems
that make no distinction between business and personal messages, even when
more discriminating systems are available. The final indignity is that
employees don’t even know when they are being watched. While some employers
provide employees what is described as notice, the information provided is
generally useless. The standard employer notice states only that the
company reserves the right to monitor anything at any time. Employees do
not know whether it is their e-mail, voice mail, Web access, or hard drive
that is monitored. They do not know whether the monitoring is continuous,
random, or as needed. They do not even know whether they are being
monitored at all.
This rapid growth in monitoring has virtually destroyed any sense of privacy
as we know it in the American workplace and is a significant threat to free
speech. There is a legitimate need for newer and better laws to deal with
electronic monitoring in the workplace.
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