Employee Surveillance: When Your Boss Watches Every Keystroke—and What You Can Do About It
74% of employers track workers. Bossware captures keystrokes, screens, webcams. NLRB says some monitoring is illegal. Your rights and how to fight back.
By Compens.ai Editorial Team
Insurance Claims Expert
Employee Surveillance: When Your Boss Watches Every Keystroke—and What You Can Do About It
Updated: December 2025
Your Employer Is Watching
Right now, software on your work computer may be recording every keystroke you type, taking screenshots of your screen every few minutes, tracking your mouse movements, monitoring your emails, logging which websites you visit, and even watching you through your webcam.
This is bossware—employee monitoring software that has exploded in the remote work era. According to a 2025 survey, 74 percent of U.S. employers now use online tracking tools. The market for dedicated surveillance software hit $587 million in 2024 and is projected to reach $1.4 billion within seven years.
The pandemic normalized remote work—and along with it, surveillance at an unprecedented scale. What started as time tracking has evolved into comprehensive monitoring systems that capture virtually everything you do on work devices, sometimes extending into your personal time and personal devices.
And here's what many workers don't know: some of this monitoring may be illegal, especially when it interferes with your right to organize, discuss wages, or protect your health and privacy.
The Bossware Boom
| Statistic | Figure | |-----------|--------| | Employers using tracking tools | 74% | | Bossware market (2024) | $587 million | | Projected market (2031) | $1.4 billion | | Monitoring products available | 550+ | | Leaders comfortable with surveillance | 70% | | Workers who'd quit over monitoring | 1 in 6 |
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What Employers Are Tracking
Common Monitoring Methods
Keystroke Logging
Software records every key you press—passwords, private messages, personal emails. Some systems analyze typing patterns to verify your identity or detect "suspicious" behavior.
Screen Recording and Screenshots
Programs capture your screen at regular intervals (every few minutes) or continuously record video of your display. Managers can review exactly what you were looking at throughout the day.
Webcam and Audio Monitoring
Some bossware can activate your camera and microphone, recording video or taking photos at random intervals to verify you're at your desk.
Application and Website Tracking
Logs every program you open, website you visit, and how long you spend on each. "Productivity scores" rate your work based on these metrics.
Email and Message Monitoring
Employers can read your emails on work accounts, review chat logs, and monitor instant messages—including on platforms like Slack or Teams.
Location Tracking
GPS tracking through phones, vehicles, or wearable devices shows your location throughout the day—sometimes even after work hours.
Behavioral Analysis
AI analyzes patterns in your work to predict if you're likely to quit, organize, or engage in "misconduct."
Social Media Monitoring
Employers review public posts, and some monitor social media during work hours on work devices.
Surveillance Technology Capabilities
Modern bossware can:- •Take screenshots every 10 seconds
- •Record continuous video of your screen
- •Log every website visited and time spent
- •Track every email sent and received
- •Monitor file transfers and downloads
- •Capture text typed in any application
- •Track idle time and active work time
- •Generate "productivity scores"
- •Trigger alerts for "suspicious" behavior
- •Track location via GPS
- •Access cameras and microphones
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The Legal Landscape
Federal Law (Limited Protection)
Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)
Under federal law, employers generally CAN:- •Monitor communications on their own systems
- •Read emails on work accounts
- •Track activity on work devices
- •Monitor for "business purposes"
- •Intercept personal communications without consent
- •Record oral communications without notice (varies by state)
- •Monitor in ways that violate other laws (NLRA, ADA, etc.)
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
The NLRB has taken the position that surveillance may violate workers' Section 7 rights to organize and engage in collective action.
2022 NLRB Memo: NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo warned that many monitoring practices are "already unlawful" when they interfere with protected activities.
Activities the NLRB considers violations:- •Tracking employees' locations after hours
- •Monitoring communications during break times
- •Reviewing social media for union activity
- •Using AI that penalizes protected concerted activity
- •Creating the impression workers are being surveilled to chill organizing
Current status (2025): Some NLRB positions have been modified under new leadership, but core protections for organizing activity remain.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Employers cannot use monitoring that discriminates against workers with disabilities. Productivity tracking that penalizes workers who need accommodations may violate the ADA.
State Laws
Several states require notice before monitoring:
| State | Requirement | |-------|-------------| | Connecticut | Written notice before electronic monitoring | | Delaware | Notice of monitoring on electronic devices | | New York | Written notice upon hiring if monitoring | | California | Various privacy protections (CCPA/CPRA) | | Illinois | Biometric privacy (BIPA) if using biometrics | | Texas | Notice for biometric collection |
California CCPA/CPRA:- •Right to know what data is collected
- •Limits on use of sensitive data
- •Penalties: $2,500-$7,500 per violation
- •Written consent for biometric data
- •Covers fingerprint, facial recognition, voiceprint
- •Penalties: $1,000-$5,000 per violation
- •Major class action settlements
What's NOT Protected
In most states, employers CAN without notice:- •Monitor work email accounts
- •Track activity on work devices
- •Review internet usage on work networks
- •Use video surveillance in work areas (usually)
- •Track company vehicles
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Your Rights
What You Can Do
Protected activities employers CANNOT monitor to punish:- •Discussing wages with coworkers
- •Organizing or discussing unions
- •Complaining about workplace safety
- •Filing discrimination complaints
- •Whistleblowing on illegal activity
- •Exercising statutory rights
- •Know what monitoring is in place (in some states)
- •Refuse biometric collection (in some states)
- •Privacy in restrooms and changing areas
- •Off-duty privacy (with important limits)
- •Organize without surveillance retaliation
Requesting Disclosure
Even without legal requirements, you can:- •Ask HR about monitoring policies
- •Request IT explain what software is installed
- •Review employee handbook for monitoring disclosures
- •Ask about data retention and access
Documenting Violations
If you suspect illegal monitoring:- •Document specific incidents
- •Save any evidence of surveillance
- •Note if monitoring targets protected activity
- •Record who knew about the monitoring
- •Preserve communications about surveillance
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Fighting Back
If Monitoring Violates Your Rights
NLRB Complaint (For organizing/concerted activity)- •File unfair labor practice charge
- •nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/nlrb-process
- •Covers retaliation for protected activity
- •Free to file; NLRB investigates
- •For state-specific violations
- •Failure to provide required notice
- •Privacy violations under state law
- •If monitoring disproportionately affects protected groups
- •Disability discrimination through productivity tracking
- •eeoc.gov
- •For privacy law violations (CCPA, etc.)
- •Pattern of abusive surveillance
- •naag.org for directory
- •For BIPA violations (significant damages available)
- •Other state law privacy violations
- •Consult employment attorney
Organizing Against Surveillance
Workers are increasingly fighting surveillance collectively:
Unionizing: Many unions negotiate limits on workplace surveillance in contracts.
Work councils: Even without unions, workers can organize to demand transparency.
Public pressure: Companies have changed surveillance policies after public exposure.
Legislation: Advocacy for state and federal laws limiting workplace monitoring.
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Protecting Yourself
Practical Steps
On work devices:- •Assume everything is monitored
- •Don't use for personal business
- •Don't access personal email or banking
- •Keep personal conversations off work platforms
- •Don't store personal files
- •Use personal devices for personal matters
- •Keep work and personal accounts separate
- •Don't use work WiFi for personal activity
- •Review what's installed on your devices
- •Check for unexpected programs or battery drain
- •Read your employee handbook
- •Review any IT/technology policies
- •Ask HR directly about monitoring
- •Know your state's notice requirements
- •Document the monitoring you discover
Detecting Surveillance
Signs of monitoring:- •Unknown programs running
- •Slower computer performance
- •Unexpected camera/microphone activity
- •Network traffic when idle
- •Battery draining faster than normal
- •Review installed programs
- •Check startup programs
- •Look for monitoring software names
- •Review network activity
- •But: Be careful about circumventing monitoring—this could be grounds for termination
Work-Life Boundaries
Setting limits:- •Don't use work devices after hours when possible
- •Disable location sharing when off duty
- •Know if wearables or phones track you
- •Understand "off-duty" privacy rights in your state
- •Document any after-hours monitoring
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The Human Cost
Why Surveillance Backfires
Research consistently shows that excessive monitoring:
Reduces productivity: Workers focus on "looking busy" rather than results
Increases stress: Constant surveillance creates anxiety and burnout
Damages trust: Employees disengage when they feel distrusted
Increases turnover: One in six workers would quit over monitoring
Chills communication: Workers avoid conversations that might be monitored
Hurts creativity: Innovation requires space for experimentation
Employer Arguments vs. Reality
Employers say: "We need to ensure productivity in remote work." Reality: Results-based management works better than surveillance.
Employers say: "It's for security purposes." Reality: Most bossware goes far beyond security needs.
Employers say: "Employees have no expectation of privacy on work devices." Reality: Some monitoring is illegal regardless of device ownership.
Employers say: "Everyone does it." Reality: That doesn't make it legal, ethical, or effective.
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The Bigger Picture
The Surveillance Economy
Workplace surveillance is part of a broader trend:- •Consumer surveillance (tracking, data collection)
- •Public surveillance (cameras, facial recognition)
- •Government surveillance (data requests, monitoring)
- •Workplace is another front in the same battle
Power Imbalance
Surveillance is fundamentally about power:- •Employers have information about workers
- •Workers often don't know they're monitored
- •Individual workers can't negotiate against surveillance
- •Collective action is the most effective response
What Would Fair Monitoring Look Like?
Principles for ethical monitoring:- •Transparency: Workers know exactly what's monitored
- •Proportionality: Monitoring limited to legitimate needs
- •Consent: Meaningful input on surveillance practices
- •Boundaries: Clear limits on scope and retention
- •Purpose: Data used only for stated purposes
- •Access: Workers can see their own data
- •Redress: Ability to challenge surveillance decisions
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Resources
Workers' Rights Organizations
- •National Employment Law Project: nelp.org
- •Electronic Frontier Foundation: eff.org
- •Electronic Privacy Information Center: epic.org
- •AFL-CIO: aflcio.org
Filing Complaints
- •NLRB: nlrb.gov (organizing/concerted activity)
- •EEOC: eeoc.gov (discrimination)
- •State labor agencies: varies by state
- •State AGs: naag.org (privacy violations)
Legal Help
- •National Employment Lawyers Association: nela.org
- •Workplace Fairness: workplacefairness.org
- •Your state bar referral service
Research and Advocacy
- •Center for Democracy and Technology: cdt.org
- •Coworker.org: coworker.org
- •AI Now Institute: ainowinstitute.org
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Conclusion: Reclaiming Workplace Dignity
The explosion of workplace surveillance represents a fundamental shift in the relationship between employers and workers. What was once limited to specific, justified contexts has become comprehensive tracking that captures nearly every aspect of work life—and sometimes personal life too.
But workers are not powerless. Legal protections exist, especially for organizing and protected activity. States are passing notice and consent requirements. And collective action can change corporate behavior.
Key takeaways:
- •Know what's monitored: Ask HR, read policies, understand your situation
- •Separate work and personal: Keep personal activity off work devices
- •Know your rights: Monitoring protected activity may be illegal
- •Document violations: Keep records if you suspect illegal surveillance
- •Organize collectively: Individual workers have limited power; groups have more
- •Support stronger laws: Advocate for workplace privacy legislation
Your employer may own the devices you use, but they don't own your dignity. Surveillance should serve legitimate purposes, respect boundaries, and operate transparently—not control your every move.
When monitoring goes too far, you have options. Know your rights, and don't be afraid to use them.
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This guide provides general information about workplace monitoring and employee rights. It does not constitute legal advice. Employment law varies by state and jurisdiction. Consult with an employment attorney for specific situations.
Sources: NLRB, EFF, EPIC, Center for Democracy and Technology
Last Updated: December 2025