Employee Monitoring

Employer surveillance of employee activity — email, computer usage, location, and keystrokes — legal in most US states with notice, but ethically contested.

Employee monitoring refers to employer practices of tracking, recording, or reviewing employee activities — including email and messaging content, computer and browser activity, keystroke logging, screen recording, application usage time, physical location via GPS or badge access, call recording, and video surveillance. In the US, employers have broad legal authority to monitor activity on company-owned devices and networks, and in most states the only requirement is that employees receive notice (which is typically buried in the employee handbook or acceptable-use policy you signed at onboarding).

Remote work has dramatically expanded monitoring practices. When offices emptied in 2020, a wave of 'bossware' adoption followed — software like Teramind, Hubstaff, ActivTrak, and Veriato that tracks keystrokes per minute, takes regular screenshots, logs application usage, and generates 'productivity scores.' Employers argue these tools replace the passive visibility of an office environment. Employees and labor advocates argue they create surveillance conditions that damage trust, autonomy, and mental health without actually measuring what matters — outcomes, not activity.

State laws vary. Connecticut and Delaware require employers to notify employees of electronic monitoring. California has strong employee privacy protections, including for personal devices used for work. New York City has required disclosure of electronic monitoring since 2022. Even where monitoring is technically legal, the NLRA may limit monitoring of protected concerted activity — an employer can't use surveillance to identify who's organizing workplace complaints. Best practice: assume anything you do on company equipment or network is visible to your employer.