Is It Legal For Bosses To Track Remote Work Activity?

Man sitting in front of laptop
Shiavon Chatman
October 25, 2021

Remote work might be here to stay – but privacy isn't. Companies are using software that tracks workers' activity. And the information employers are able to access is incredibly invasive!

The monitoring technology was introduced as a tool to help companies track employee’s productivity, but that isn’t all it's being used for.

Through surveillance software, employers can see workers’ personal information like the sites they visit and what they do and say on them, including private medical information. This can’t be legal, right?

Unfortunately it is legal, but that doesn't mean that it's right. Companies can legally monitor ANY site workers visit on a company-owned computer or phone. But employees deserve a certain level of privacy – we shouldn’t be spied on, especially in our own homes.

This is extremely invasive and makes employees vulnerable. 

If your boss can see your personal information, they can potentially use it to retaliate against you. What if they don’t like the sites you visit? Disagree with you politically? Catch you applying for a job at a new, less-invasive employer?

Companies shouldn’t track their employees and the sites they use that aren’t work-related. It’s invasive and should be illegal! Workers deserve to have a certain level of privacy, whether at the workplace or in the comfort of their own homes.

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