Workplace surveillance.

Assembly Member Elhawary's workplace surveillance legislation establishes new limits on employers' use of electronic monitoring tools while carving out specific exemptions for national security operations. The measure prohibits surveillance in employee-only areas like bathrooms, break rooms, and lactation spaces, unless mandated by court order, and grants workers the right to leave monitoring devices behind during off-duty hours and meal periods.

The bill defines workplace surveillance tools as any system that passively collects data on worker activities, communications, or behaviors without direct human observation. While employers may still use video cameras in break areas for safety purposes, such monitoring must exclude audio recording, artificial intelligence analysis, and routine review of footage. The legislation requires employers to post notices about surveillance activities and restricts access to recorded material except when requested by workers or law enforcement.

Violations carry civil penalties of $500 per employee per incident, enforceable by the Labor Commissioner or public prosecutors. The measure includes anti-retaliation provisions protecting workers who exercise their rights or report violations. While the bill exempts employers developing products for national security, military, space and defense purposes, it allows local jurisdictions to maintain stricter workplace privacy protections.