Bill > AB1331

This bill introduces comprehensive workplace surveillance regulations that limit employers' ability to monitor workers in specific areas and contexts. The legislation defines key terms like "workplace surveillance tools" as systems that collect worker activities through methods such as video, audio, or electronic tracking, and establishes strict guidelines for their use. Employers are prohibited from using surveillance tools in employee-only areas like bathrooms, locker rooms, changing areas, breakrooms, lactation spaces, and cafeterias, with limited exceptions for worker safety purposes like video recording without audio. Workers are granted the right to leave behind surveillance devices in off-duty areas and cannot be required to physically implant data-collecting devices. The bill provides workers with protection against retaliation for exercising these rights and establishes a civil penalty of $500 per employee for each violation. Enforcement can be conducted by the Labor Commissioner, public prosecutors, or employees themselves, and the law allows for local jurisdictions to provide even stronger worker protections. Notably, the bill includes exemptions for employers working on national security, military, space, defense, or aircraft development projects, and ensures that surveillance tools cannot be used in ways that conflict with existing federal or state laws.

Budget and Finance, Business and Industry, Justice, Labor and Employment

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1331