Monitoring Technology in the American Workplace: Would Adopting English Privacy Standards Better Balance Employee Privacy and Productivity

Abstract

In an article summarizing privacy law in the American workplace, noted privacy law scholar Matthew Finkin painted a dramatic picture of the surveillance under which many American employees work.' For example, he cited a 2001 American Management Association study showing that nearly 80% of the large employers surveyed, who together employ as many as one out of four American workers, listened to employees' phone conversations and voice mail, and monitored electronic files and email.2 Finkin quoted the Privacy Foundation's statistic that 34% of workers are monitored continuously with regard to their email and Internet usage.3 However, Finkin also pointed