New York State Requires Notice of Electronic Monitoring for All Private Employers

New York State Requires Notice of Electronic Monitoring for All Private Employers

Beginning May 7, 2022, all private employers with a place of business within the State of New York will be required to provide new hires with written notice of any electronic monitoring the employer conducts on its workforce. Covered monitoring activity includes the monitoring or interception of employee telephone conversations, emails, and Internet usage through any device or system. The Act exempts monitoring processes designed to manage the volume or type of voicemails, emails, or Internet usage by a private employer’s workforce where such monitoring (i) does not target a particular individual’s telephone conversations, emails, or Internet usage, and (ii) is for the sole purpose of computer system maintenance or protection.

Notice must be given to all new hires upon their start date. The notice must (i) be in writing, (ii) be in an electronic record or other electronic form, (iii) specifically state that “any and all telephone conversations or transmissions, electronic mail or transmissions, or Internet access or usage by an employee by any electronic device or system, including but not limited to the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio or electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photo-optical systems may be subject to monitoring at any and all times and by any lawful means,” and (iv) be acknowledged by the employee in writing or electronically.

Non-compliance can subject the private employer to a maximum civil penalty that ranges from $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second offense, and $3,000 for a third and each subsequent offense.