Workplace surveillance.

Assembly Member Elhawary's workplace surveillance legislation establishes new restrictions on employers' use of electronic monitoring tools while defining worker privacy rights in California. The measure prohibits employers from using surveillance systems in off-duty areas like break rooms, bathrooms, and locker rooms, as well as monitoring workers' personal residences and vehicles except when strictly necessary.

Workers gain the right to disable or leave behind surveillance devices when entering designated off-duty spaces or during meal periods. The bill explicitly bars employers from requiring workers to receive implanted devices that collect or transmit data. While surveillance remains permitted in regular work areas, employers must notify workers in advance when monitoring systems are in use.

The Labor Commissioner would enforce these provisions through investigations and citations, with violations subject to civil penalties of $500 per employee per incident. Workers who face retaliation for exercising their rights may pursue civil actions for damages and attorney fees. The bill preserves existing local worker privacy protections and allows independent enforcement by the Attorney General and other public prosecutors.