September 29, 2004

WASHINGTON -- Congressman Tom Petri introduced legislation Wednesday to prohibit the video or audio monitoring of employees in areas where they change clothing.

"Unfortunately, there have been a number of cases where employers have been caught engaging in secret surveillance via video or audio equipment of employees changing clothing on the job site," Petri said.

"For example, the Wall Street Journal reported that 19 locomotive engineers sued their employer in Oakland County (Michigan) Circuit Court, charging that their employer had hidden a camera in a locker-room exit sign. A worker at a state college was shocked to discover that her employer had secretly videotaped her changing clothes in her office after work. A waitress at a restaurant was spied on in the employee changing room when she got dressed for work," he said.

Under Petri's Employee Freedom from Invasion of Privacy Act, an employer who violates the prohibition against video or audio monitoring of any area on an employer's premises where workers change clothing would be liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation.

Petri, the Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said that he worked with Congressman Rob Andrews (D-NJ) and with the Communication Workers of America union to develop this bipartisan proposal.