Calif. Bill Would Make Workplace Electronic Monitoring A Crime

No more secret monitoring. That's the intent of a bill that needs only the signature of Gov. Gray Davis to be the law in California. Under the bill -- which passed unanimously in the state Senate and was approved overwhelmingly in the state Assembly, employers would be prohibited from secretly monitoring an employee's e-mail and computer files. In addition, the rules would require employers to create electronic monitoring and workplace privacy policies and practices, to distribute those policies to all employees, and to get from employees signed acknowledgments that they have read and understand such policies. Employers who conduct electronic monitoring and surveillance without informing employees would be subject to criminal misdemeanor fines.