Senate Bill S4755

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S4755              REVISED 03/23/10

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the civil rights law, in relation to electronic
monitoring


 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :
To require private employers who engage in monitoring or intercepting
electronic communications of any employee by any electronic device or
system to provide notice of such monitoring.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :
This bill amends the civil rights law by adding a new section 52(a).

Subdivision 1 defines for the purposes of the section the term
employer, which shall not include the state or any political
subdivision of the state.

Subdivision 2 requires private employers engaging in electronic
monitoring, which includes monitoring or otherwise intercepting
telephone conversations or transmissions, electronic mail or
transmission, or internet usage of or by the employee, by any
electronic device or system, to give prior notice to employees in
writing, in an electronic record, or in another electronic form. The
notice must be acknowledged by the employee either in writing or
              

electronically. Employers are also required to post the notice in a
conspicuous place which is readily accessible to employees.

The notice shall contain the form of communication and/or computer
usage that will be monitored, means by which monitoring will be
accomplished, frequency of monitoring, and manner in. which the
information will be collected, stored, and used.

Subdivision 3 allows courts to award damages and reasonable attorneys'
fees to a prevailing plaintiff as well as afford injunctive relief
against any employer that commits or proposes to commit a violation of
this section.

Subdivision 4 authorizes the attorney general to enforce the
provisions of the section. Any employer in violation of this section
shall be subject to a maximum civil penalty of five hundred dollars
for the first offense, one thousand dollars for the second offense and
three thousand dollars for the third and each subsequent offense.

Subdivision 5: This section does not apply to processes undertaken by
employers to manage the type or volume of incoming or outgoing
electronic mail or telephone voice mail or internet usage for the
purpose of computer system maintenance and/or protection.

 JUSTIFICATION :
Notifying employees of computer monitoring protects employee privacy
by making sure that they understand the consequences of inappropriate
internet activity.

The American Management Agency's 2007 Electronic Monitoring and
Surveillance Survey concluded that bosses who fired employees for
internet misuse cited the two main reasons as violation of company
policy and excessive personal use. And according to a Harris poll, a
general lack of awareness of an employers' monitoring policy was
stated by four out of every ten employees from a pool of five-hundred
plus employees. In addition, present computer software can allow for
employers to see what is on an employee's screen or stored in an
employee's computer terminal and hard disk, monitor internet usage
such as web-surfing and electronic mail, and monitor idle time or away

time from an employee's computer terminal without prior notification
of electronic monitoring to employees.

By making guidelines of appropriate and inappropriate internet use
public, employees will be less likely to undermine company standards.
Companies will retain the right to monitor computer usage, simply with
the stipulation that employees are informed of surveillance practices.
This knowledge will increase transparency within the organization and
help to avoid lawsuits and litigation regarding invasion of privacy.
Notification of computer surveillance will permit employees to make
informed decisions about their internet use with full knowledge of the
ramifications of their actions, while supporting companies' ability to
monitor internet activity within their organization.

This legislation will not apply to State employers or any political
subdivision employers of this State; rather, it applies to private
employers who already engage in monitoring or intercepting of
electronic communications of any employee by any electronic device or
system.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become law.