EPIC Endorses Federal Bills Barring Worker Surveillance, Automated Workplace Decisions

On Thursday, EPIC endorsed two key worker privacy bills introduced by Democratic Sens. Ed Markey, Brian Schatz, and Cory Booker: the No Robot Bosses Act and the Stop Spying Bosses Act.  

“The No Robot Bosses Act & Stop Spying Bosses Act protect America’s workers from opaque automated systems that invade their privacy and are used to unfairly judge their competence, scrutinize their every move, and interfere with their ability to collectively organize for better pay and better work,” EPIC Deputy Director and Policy Director Caitriona Fitzgerald said in a statement. “EPIC thanks Senator Markey for his leadership on protecting workers and is proud to endorse these bills.” 

The former bill safeguards against the use of automated decision systems such as AI to make important workplace decisions including hiring, firing, scheduling, and discipline. The latter protects workers against undisclosed, unregulated surveillance by their employers. 

The No Robot Bosses Act prohibits employers from predominantly relying on automated decision systems to make workplace decisions, mandates pre-deployment assessments and transparency about the use of automated decision systems, gives workers the right to opt out of algorithmic management in favor of human review, and creates several other privacy protections for job applicants and workers. 

The Stop Spying Bosses Act curtails employers’ ability to surveil their workers, including by limiting collection and use of worker data to what’s strictly necessary, andby prohibiting the use of worker data to surveil workers’ union activity, political or religious views, immigration status, or off-duty conduct. It also mandates the disclosure of what worker data is being collected, how it’s being used, and who has access to it. Additionally, it gives workers the right to access and correct data about them. 

EPIC applauds Sens. Markey, Schatz, and Booker for their attention to this critical issue, as well as Reps. Chris Deluzio and Suzanne Bonamici, who introduced companion legislation to both bills.  

EPIC has consistently advocated for broader privacy protections for workers, an increasingly urgent mission as the use of monitoring tools and surveillance technology in the workplace expands.