Calif. Supreme Court Allows ‘Narrowly Tailored’ Employee Surveillance
The California Supreme Court has ruled in an invasion of privacy suit that a company isn’t liable for installing secret video equipment in an employee’s office for legitimate business reasons.
The court said placement of the camera in an office shared by two workers in a facility for abused children wasn’t egregious, and the employer had a valid reason to do it, the Recorder reports.
The Hillsides Children’s Center in Pasadena had installed the hidden equipment in an attempt to find out who was viewing child porn on a computer during early-morning hours. The two workers who shared the office, office manager Abigail Hernandez and administrative assistant Maria Lopez, were not suspects and the camera, which operated only after business hours, did not record them or catch the person using the computer, according to the story.
The court said it did not intend to encourage surveillance, but in this case it was permissible.
“Activation of the surveillance system was narrowly tailored in place, time and scope, and was prompted by legitimate business concerns,” the opinion said. “Plaintiffs were not at risk of being monitored or recorded during regular work hours and were never actually caught on camera or videotape.”
