Workplace surveillance.

Assembly Member Elhawary's workplace surveillance legislation would establish new restrictions on how California employers can monitor workers, prohibiting surveillance in private areas and during off-duty hours while creating enforcement mechanisms for violations.

The bill defines workplace surveillance tools as any system that collects worker data through indirect means, including video monitoring, electronic tracking, and biometric data collection. Under the proposed rules, employers would be barred from using these tools to monitor private spaces like bathrooms, break rooms, and lactation areas. The legislation would also require surveillance systems to be disabled during rest periods and off-duty hours, including in workers' personal vehicles and residences. Additionally, employers would be prohibited from requiring workers to implant data-collecting devices.

To enforce these provisions, the bill authorizes the Labor Commissioner to investigate violations and issue citations carrying civil penalties of $500 per employee per violation. Employees who face retaliation for exercising their rights under the law could pursue civil actions for damages, including punitive damages and attorney fees. The legislation also empowers public prosecutors to bring enforcement actions and seek injunctive relief.

The measure includes provisions clarifying that it does not preempt local laws offering equal or greater worker protections, while preserving the independent enforcement authority of the Attorney General and local prosecutors. If any portion of the law is found invalid, the remaining provisions would remain in effect under the bill's severability clause.