AB 1331: Workplace surveillance.

Existing law establishes the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement within the Department of Industrial Relations. Existing law authorizes the division, which is headed by the Labor Commissioner, to enforce the Labor Code and all labor laws of the state the enforcement of which is not specifically vested in any other officer, board or commission.

This bill would limit the use of workplace surveillance tools, as defined, by employers, including by prohibiting an employer from monitoring or surveilling workers in employee-only, employer-designated areas, as specified. The bill would provide workers with the right to leave behind workplace surveillance tools that are on their person or in their possession when entering certain employee-only areas and public bathrooms and during off-duty hours, as specified. The bill would prohibit a worker from removing or physically tampering with any component of a workplace surveillance tool that is part of or embedded in employer equipment or vehicles.

This bill would subject an employer who violates the bill to a civil penalty of $500 per violation and would authorize a public prosecutor to bring specified enforcement actions.