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SECTION 31-48d
Sec. 31-48d. Employers engaged in electronic monitoring
required to give prior notice to employees. Exceptions. Civil
penalty. (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Employer" means any person, firm or corporation, including the state
and any political subdivision of the state which has employees;
(2) "Employee" means any person who performs services for an employer in a
business of the employer, if the employer has the right to
control and direct the person as to (A) the result to be
accomplished by the services, and (B) the details and means by
which such result is accomplished; and
(3) "Electronic monitoring" means the collection of information on an
employer's premises concerning employees' activities or
communications by any means other than direct observation,
including the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera,
electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photo-optical systems, but
not including the collection of information (A) for security
purposes in common areas of the employer's premises which are
held out for use by the public, or (B) which is prohibited under
state or federal law.
(b) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, each
employer who engages in any type of electronic monitoring shall
give prior written notice to all employees who may be affected,
informing them of the types of monitoring which may occur. Each
employer shall post, in a conspicuous place which is readily
available for viewing by its employees, a notice concerning the
types of electronic monitoring which the employer may engage in.
Such posting shall constitute such prior written notice.
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(2) When (A) an employer has reasonable grounds to believe that employees
are engaged in conduct which (i) violates the law, (ii) violates
the legal rights of the employer or the employer's employees, or
(iii) creates a hostile workplace environment, and (B)
electronic monitoring may produce evidence of this misconduct,
the employer may conduct monitoring without giving prior written
notice.
(c) The Labor Commissioner may levy a civil penalty against any person that
the commissioner finds to be in violation of subsection (b) of
this section, after a hearing conducted in accordance with
sections 4-176e to 4-184, inclusive. The maximum civil penalty
shall be 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.
(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a criminal
investigation. Any information obtained in the course of a
criminal investigation through the use of electronic monitoring
may be used in a disciplinary proceeding against an employee.
Workplace Laws
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