What's happening
This bill prohibits employers from electronically monitoring employees working from home, with limited exceptions for work-related activities.
Why it matters
Significantly limits employer surveillance. The bill drastically reduces employers’ ability to monitor employees working from home, especially on personal devices, by banning programs that track mouse movements, keystrokes, website history, and use of cameras except for specific, permitted purposes.
Protects employee privacy at home. By prohibiting mandatory camera use and most forms of remote monitoring, the bill ensures that employees’ home environments remain private, reducing the risk of intrusive or non-consensual observation.
Allows for targeted exceptions. While strict, the bill still permits employers to monitor website browsing history on company devices and to require video programs for legitimate work-related activities, addressing both privacy and operational needs.
Empowers regulatory oversight. The bill authorizes the labor commissioner to establish further regulations, suggesting that employee privacy protections may expand or adapt over time in response to new technologies or workplace practices.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Limit Work-From-Home Monitoring
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
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History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
704
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to prohibiting employers from certain monitoring activities of employees working at home
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 202-m to read as follows:
§ 202-m. Protection of employees from certain electronic monitoring. 1. No employer shall download, install, or require or request an employee to download or install, any program which monitors the activities of such employee while such employee is working on a personal electronic device. As used in this section "monitor" includes, but is not limited to, tracking of mouse movements, keyboard strokes, website browsing history, location data, video recording of screens or access to cameras for the purpose of tracking productivity and/or monitoring employees remotely.
2. No employer shall utilize any program which monitors the activities of an employee while such employee is working from home on an employer provided electronic device, provided however, that an employer may monitor the website browsing history of such employee on such employer provided electronic device.
3. No employer shall require an employee to leave a camera connected to or part of, an electronic device on while such employee is working from home.
4. The commissioner may promulgate regulations as such commissioner deems necessary for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this section.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02002-01-5
5. Nothing in this section shall preclude an employer from requiring an employee to utilize a video communication program for work-related activities.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.