New Maine law tightens rules on monitoring, home video and personal devices
Maine has passed a new employer surveillance law that tightens notice rules and limits audiovisual monitoring of workers at home and on personal devices.
On January 11, 2026, Maine’s “An Act to Regulate Employer Surveillance to Protect Workers” took effect as Public Law Chapter 524, H.P. 25 – L.D. 61. The act creates a new Employer Surveillance subchapter in Title 26, chapter 7 of the Maine Revised Statutes, designated as subchapter 1‑E, “Employer Surveillance.”
The law begins by defining who and what it covers. An “employee” is any individual who provides services or labor for an employer for wages or other remuneration. An “employer” is any private or public employer, including the State and political subdivisions of the State.
“Employer surveillance” is defined as the monitoring of an employee by an employer through the use of an electronic device or system. The statute lists examples including a computer, telephone, wire or radio system, or an electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photo‑optical system. At the same time, the law makes clear what is not “employer surveillance”: it does not include the use of surveillance cameras for security or safety purposes, or the use of global positioning system tracking or other safety devices on vehicles owned by the employer but operated by the employee.
The core operational rule for HR is straightforward. An employer may not use employer surveillance...
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