War declared on bosses using 'omnipresent surveillance' tools to quash union efforts
(2022/11/01)
- Reference: 1667262691
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/11/01/employee_tracking_nlrb/
- Source link:
America's labor watchdog says it intends to crack down on the growing use of technology by bosses to closely monitor and measure staff, as it is feared this software may be used to thwart efforts to organize and unionize.
In a memo published Monday, the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)'s General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo [1]said she was particularly concerned about "the potential for omnipresent surveillance and other algorithmic-management tools to interfere" with workers' rights to organize, which is protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Crucially, she fears these tools may prevent folks from privately and confidentially discussing and planning unionization efforts at work, which they are generally entitled to do. As such, she wants the labor watchdog to be ready to punish businesses that trample over these rights using these tools as "more and more employers take advantage" of employee-monitoring software.
[2]
Abruzzo's [3]memo [PDF] covers not only the types of technologies she is concerned about – such as monitoring systems used by [4]companies including Amazon to scrutinize warehouse workers – but also with how such tech is being used, namely to keep tabs on employees. In a statement from the board, we're told:
Some employers record workers’ conversations and track their movements using wearable devices, cameras, radio-frequency identification badges and GPS tracking devices. And some employers monitor employees’ computers with keyloggers and software that takes screenshots, webcam photos, or audio recordings throughout the day. Employers may use this data to manage employee productivity, including disciplining employees who fall short of quotas, penalizing employees for taking leave, and providing individualized directives throughout the workday.
"Employers could use these technologies to interfere with the exercise of Section 7 rights under the National Labor Relations Act by significantly impairing or negating employees' ability to engage in protected activity," Abruzzo thus concluded.
She also cited research by Uncle Sam's Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) that found an app used by gig workers to track the time they've worked across multiple platforms was continuing to monitor them outside of working hours. If that wasn't enough of a privacy violation, that same software was also [5]selling access to the data it gathered to employers, insurers, and financial institutions.
[6]
[7]
Abruzzo is concerned that bosses could ultimately use all of this data, collected internally and externally, to stymie people's rights to freely self-organize under the [8]NLRA , and in doing so are committing unfair labor practices as defined in Section 8 of the law.
To that end, Abruzzo urged the board to find an employer in presumptive violation of Section 8 if "the employer's surveillance and management practices, viewed as a whole, would tend to interfere with or prevent a reasonable employee from engaging in activity protected by the Act." In other words: take action if monitoring software could be used to undermine people's protected unionization efforts.
[9]Workplace surveillance booming during pandemic, destroying trust in employers
[10]Citrix research: Bosses and workers don't see eye to eye over hybrid work
[11]Amazon delivery staff 'denied bonus' pay by AI cameras misjudging their driving
[12]This always-on culture we're in is awful. How do we stop it? Oh, sorry, hold on – just had another notification
Workplace surveillance software isn't entirely new, though became a booming concern during the COVID-19 pandemic when [13]executives either installed, or were considering installing , monitoring software on their employees' machines to check up on people working from home.
That hasn't sat well with employees, who have reported an [14]erosion of trust in their managers due to the decision to track their activities.
[15]
Whether the NLRB would use labor organization rights as a vehicle to more broadly regulate an employer's ability to monitor their employees isn't clear. We've asked and will update this story if we learn more.
Abruzzo did say concerns over the use of surveillance software in the workplace aren't confined to her agency. The Federal Trade Commission, CFPB, Department of Justice, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Department of Labor are all "working to combat a range of harms employers inflict on workers using such technologies," she noted.
"Agreements that we have signed with many of these agencies will facilitate information sharing and coordinated enforcement on these issues," Abruzzo added. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/nlrb-general-counsel-issues-memo-on-unlawful-electronic-surveillance-and
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y2Cn8T@90f5DlhqMRdvJFAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://apps.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d45838de7e0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/01/amazon_staff_spying/
[5] https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/shining-a-spotlight-on-workers-financial-experiences/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y2Cn8T@90f5DlhqMRdvJFAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y2Cn8T@90f5DlhqMRdvJFAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.nlrb.gov/guidance/key-reference-materials/national-labor-relations-act
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/12/workplace_monitoring_report/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/08/work_rebalanced/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/27/in_brief_ai/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/30/feature_always_on_culture_notifications/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/08/work_rebalanced/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/12/workplace_monitoring_report/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y2Cn8T@90f5DlhqMRdvJFAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
In a memo published Monday, the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)'s General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo [1]said she was particularly concerned about "the potential for omnipresent surveillance and other algorithmic-management tools to interfere" with workers' rights to organize, which is protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Crucially, she fears these tools may prevent folks from privately and confidentially discussing and planning unionization efforts at work, which they are generally entitled to do. As such, she wants the labor watchdog to be ready to punish businesses that trample over these rights using these tools as "more and more employers take advantage" of employee-monitoring software.
[2]
Abruzzo's [3]memo [PDF] covers not only the types of technologies she is concerned about – such as monitoring systems used by [4]companies including Amazon to scrutinize warehouse workers – but also with how such tech is being used, namely to keep tabs on employees. In a statement from the board, we're told:
Some employers record workers’ conversations and track their movements using wearable devices, cameras, radio-frequency identification badges and GPS tracking devices. And some employers monitor employees’ computers with keyloggers and software that takes screenshots, webcam photos, or audio recordings throughout the day. Employers may use this data to manage employee productivity, including disciplining employees who fall short of quotas, penalizing employees for taking leave, and providing individualized directives throughout the workday.
"Employers could use these technologies to interfere with the exercise of Section 7 rights under the National Labor Relations Act by significantly impairing or negating employees' ability to engage in protected activity," Abruzzo thus concluded.
She also cited research by Uncle Sam's Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) that found an app used by gig workers to track the time they've worked across multiple platforms was continuing to monitor them outside of working hours. If that wasn't enough of a privacy violation, that same software was also [5]selling access to the data it gathered to employers, insurers, and financial institutions.
[6]
[7]
Abruzzo is concerned that bosses could ultimately use all of this data, collected internally and externally, to stymie people's rights to freely self-organize under the [8]NLRA , and in doing so are committing unfair labor practices as defined in Section 8 of the law.
To that end, Abruzzo urged the board to find an employer in presumptive violation of Section 8 if "the employer's surveillance and management practices, viewed as a whole, would tend to interfere with or prevent a reasonable employee from engaging in activity protected by the Act." In other words: take action if monitoring software could be used to undermine people's protected unionization efforts.
[9]Workplace surveillance booming during pandemic, destroying trust in employers
[10]Citrix research: Bosses and workers don't see eye to eye over hybrid work
[11]Amazon delivery staff 'denied bonus' pay by AI cameras misjudging their driving
[12]This always-on culture we're in is awful. How do we stop it? Oh, sorry, hold on – just had another notification
Workplace surveillance software isn't entirely new, though became a booming concern during the COVID-19 pandemic when [13]executives either installed, or were considering installing , monitoring software on their employees' machines to check up on people working from home.
That hasn't sat well with employees, who have reported an [14]erosion of trust in their managers due to the decision to track their activities.
[15]
Whether the NLRB would use labor organization rights as a vehicle to more broadly regulate an employer's ability to monitor their employees isn't clear. We've asked and will update this story if we learn more.
Abruzzo did say concerns over the use of surveillance software in the workplace aren't confined to her agency. The Federal Trade Commission, CFPB, Department of Justice, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Department of Labor are all "working to combat a range of harms employers inflict on workers using such technologies," she noted.
"Agreements that we have signed with many of these agencies will facilitate information sharing and coordinated enforcement on these issues," Abruzzo added. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/nlrb-general-counsel-issues-memo-on-unlawful-electronic-surveillance-and
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y2Cn8T@90f5DlhqMRdvJFAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://apps.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d45838de7e0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/01/amazon_staff_spying/
[5] https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/shining-a-spotlight-on-workers-financial-experiences/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y2Cn8T@90f5DlhqMRdvJFAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y2Cn8T@90f5DlhqMRdvJFAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.nlrb.gov/guidance/key-reference-materials/national-labor-relations-act
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/12/workplace_monitoring_report/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/08/work_rebalanced/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/27/in_brief_ai/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/30/feature_always_on_culture_notifications/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/08/work_rebalanced/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/12/workplace_monitoring_report/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y2Cn8T@90f5DlhqMRdvJFAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: NLRB one more reason voters in Muruca will crack down on UNION JOE
DS999
Yeah it is idiots like you who keep talking about how terrible California's economy is because it just doesn't fit in with your crazy notions. Nearly a $100 billion budget surplus despite those terrible policies and tax and spend liberals running it.
Oh but but poop on the streets in SF and crime crime crime, right? Nevermind that red states hold all 10 of the top 10 states with the highest crime rates per capita, with deep red state Oklahoma leading the way with the nation's highest per capita crime rate. Hey wait, isn't that a right to work state? Its economic growth has trailed the US as a whole for years. Isn't being run top to bottom by republicans supposed to be the recipe for high growth?
Funny how reality works, but I guess if you get your news from Murdoch reality and truth are optional.
American labour laws/attitudes
Anonymous Coward
Weirdest on the planet.
Depends on who owns the computer...
Sam Adams the Dog
Regarding key logging, etc. on employees' computers, the question is who owns the computers. If they're talking about computers owned by the employees, it's very bad. If it's computers used by employees that are owned by the employer and used exclusively for work, then I don't see a "rights" problem with it. Use your own computer when you're off the job; on the job, you already know that your email is monitored, etc. Why would you use the device for anything that's not work-related, anyway?
That's not to say that I think it's likely to be very useful to the employer.
-P.
NLRB one more reason voters in Muruca will crack down on UNION JOE
I am looking forward to INTEL employees Unionizing in the MECA of FAB... Columbus OH. OHIO is a UNION State which stands to reason that it is a rust belt state with former UNION factories growing grass in parking lots... Wisconsin and Michigan which are successful are RIGHT TO WORK STATES... That is what this bit is all about. Any state with a declining economy is a UNION STATE and any state that is thriving is a right to work state.
The worst economic state is Rhode Island. That's the same state where the former Gov of that rat trap economy is now SECRETARY OF COMMERCE... LOL. Way to go Joe. Find not only the most incompetent but look for one with an unblemished track record of failure to bring their wares the Federal Gov.
At least Liz Truss saved our cheese.