A 8917: Prohibits employers from using workplace surveillance tools to surveil employees in private, off-duty areas or a worker's residence, vehicle or property; defines terms; establishes penalties for violations of such provisions.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8917 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY July 16, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. VALDEZ -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to prohibiting the surveil- lance of workers in private, off-duty areas or a worker's residence, vehicle or property The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 45 to read 2 as follows: 3 § 45. Workplace surveillance of employees; prohibition. 1. For the 4 purposes of this section: 5 a. "Authorized representative" means a person or organization 6 appointed by the worker to serve as an agent of the worker; provided, 7 however, that "authorized representative" does not mean a worker's 8 employer. 9 b. "Employer" means a person who directly or indirectly, or through an 10 agent or any other person, employs or exercises control over the wages, 11 benefits, other compensation, hours, working conditions, access to work 12 or job opportunities, or other terms or conditions of employment, of any 13 worker. "Employer" includes an employer's labor contractor. 14 c. "Worker" means a natural person or that person's authorized repre- 15 sentative acting as a job applicant to, an employee of, or an independ- 16 ent contractor providing service to, or through, a business or a state 17 or local governmental entity in a workplace. 18 d. "Worker data" means any information that identifies, relates to, 19 describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could 20 reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a worker, regardless 21 of how the information is collected, inferred, or obtained. 22 e. "Workplace surveillance tool" means a system, application, instru- 23 ment, or device that collects or facilitates the collection of worker 24 data, activities, communications, actions, biometrics, or behaviors, or EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13386-01-5 
 A. 8917 2 1 those of the public, by means other than direct observation by a person, 2 including, but not limited to, video or audio surveillance, electronic 3 work pace tracking, geolocation, electromagnetic tracking, photoelec- 4 tronic tracking, or utilization of a photo-optical system or other 5 means. 6 2. a. An employer shall not use a workplace surveillance tool to do 7 either of the following: 8 (i) Monitor or surveil workers in private, off-duty areas, including, 9 but not limited to, bathrooms, locker rooms, changing areas, breakrooms, 10 smoking areas, lactation spaces, employee cafeterias, and lounges, 11 including data collection on the frequency of use of those private 12 areas; or 13 (ii) Monitor or surveil a worker's residence, a worker's personal 14 vehicle, or property owned, leased, or used by a worker, unless that 15 surveillance is strictly necessary. 16 b. Workplace surveillance tools shall be disabled during off-duty 17 hours, including rest and break periods, including in a worker's resi- 18 dence, personal vehicle, or property owned, leased, or used by a worker. 19 c. An employer shall not require a worker to physically implant a 20 device that collects or transmits data, including a device that is 21 installed subcutaneously in the body. 22 3. a. An employer shall not deny an employee the rights under this 23 section or discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, or in any 24 manner discriminate against an employee for using, or attempting to use, 25 the employee's rights under this section, filing a complaint with the 26 department or alleging a violation of this section, cooperating in an 27 investigation or prosecution of an alleged violation of this section, or 28 opposing any policy or practice or act that is prohibited by this 29 section. 30 b. In addition to any other remedy, an employer who violates this 31 section shall be subject to a civil penalty of five hundred dollars per 32 employee for each violation of this section; provided, however, that any 33 employee who has suffered a violation by an employer who has been issued 34 a citation pursuant to paragraph c of this subdivision may bring a civil 35 action in a court of competent jurisdiction for damages caused by such 36 violation, including punitive damages, and for reasonable attorney's 37 fees as part of the costs of any such action for damages. In any civil 38 action brought by such an employee for a violation by an employer, an 39 employee or the employee's exclusive representative may petition the 40 supreme court in any county wherein the violation is alleged to have 41 occurred, or wherein the person resides or transacts business, for 42 appropriate temporary or preliminary injunctive relief. 43 c. The commissioner shall be authorized to enforce this section, 44 including investigating an alleged violation, and ordering appropriate 45 temporary relief to mitigate a violation or maintain the status quo 46 pending the completion of a full investigation or hearing, including 47 issuing a citation against an employer who violates this section and 48 filing a civil action. 49 d. In addition to other remedies as may be provided by the laws of 50 this state or its subdivisions, any public prosecutor may also institute 51 an action for a violation of this section, including an action seeking 52 injunctive relief. 53 4. This section shall not be construed or interpreted to supersede or 54 preempt any provisions of local law, rules, or regulations. 55 5. If any provision of this section or its application is held inval- 56 id, such invalidity shall not affect any of the other provisions or 
 A. 8917 3 1 applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or 2 application. 3 6. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit the authority of 4 the attorney general, a district attorney, or a municipal attorney, 5 either upon their own complaint or the complaint of any person acting 6 for themselves or the general public, to prosecute actions, either civil 7 or criminal, for violations of this section, or to enforce the 8 provisions thereof independently and without specific direction of the 9 commissioner or the division. 10 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.