Our blog post on Nanny Cams in the workplace turned out to be one of our most popular posts (makes us wonder what people are putting in the search bar?). So, we thought we would follow up with some more information for employers about surveillance in the workplace.
Employers with unionized workforces will need to be sure that any surveillance program or policy complies with the National Labor Relations Act. It has long been the policy of the National Labor Relations Board that employers with a unionized workforce must bargain with the union before installing hidden cameras. In Colgate-Palmolive Company, 323 NLRB 515 (1997), the Board held that the installation and use of covert cameras was a mandatory subject of bargaining. That decision left open, however, the question of whether an employer could install non-hidden, or conspicuous, methods of surveillance without going through the union.
It appears that question was answered earlier this year, however, in Endurance Environmental Services, LLC, 2022 NLRB LEXIS 45, 2022 WL 393229 (2022). In a footnote in that decision, the Board said, "[t]he Respondent's decision to install cameras that observe employees at work was a mandatory subject of bargaining." The Board further indicated that it would likely not matter if cameras were for surveillance purposes or not, as the installation of cameras in the workplace is likely always a mandatory subject of bargaining. So, it appears the current Board views the installation of cameras...
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