Ontario introduces legislation regarding employee electronic monitoring
The Ontario government has introduced Bill 88, the Working for Workers Act, which among other things proposes section 41.1.1, which requires an employer with more than 25 employees to provide employees with a policy indicating what employees’ digital activity is being monitored. Electronic monitoring is not defined. Employees will have to determine the scope and extent of the policy and the monitoring. The Ontario’s news release stated:
…plans to introduce new legislation … that would require employers to tell their workers if and how they are being monitored electronically. If passed, Ontario would become the first province to require electronic monitoring policies and protect workers’ privacy by requiring employers be transparent on how employees’ use of computers, cell phones, GPS systems and other electronic devices are being tracked.
The Ontario government has also indicated they are considering private sector privacy legislation, but that legislation has not been introduced yet.