Among numerous recently enacted Connecticut laws is Public Act 26-73 (the “Act”), which amends Connecticut General Statutes Section 31-48d (the “statute”), which has been on the books since 1998.
The Act took effect on October 1, 2026, and contains sweeping new requirements for employers that engage in the electronic monitoring of employees.
What You Need to Know
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The statute’s definition of “electronic monitoring” remains unchanged. It is defined as “the collection of information on an employer’s premises concerning employees’ activities or communications by any means other than the direct observation, including the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, photo-optical systems….” The definition expressly excludes the collection of information for security purposes in public areas or locations where federal or state law prohibits monitoring, such as restrooms or changing rooms.
Existing Written Notice to Employees Must Be Updated
The statute requires each employer that is engaged in any type of electronic monitoring to provide written notice to all employees on the types of monitoring that may occur. To comply with existing law, employers are required to post, in a “conspicuous place . . . readily available for viewing by employees,” the types of electronic monitoring that may occur.
The Act expands upon this existing written notice requirement in two respects. First, employers now must identify any specific location or locations on their premises where monitoring may occur. Second, the Act requires employers to post the written notice, among other places, at any specific location where monitoring may occur.
There are some narrow exceptions to the new requirement that employers identify specific locations of monitoring activity, for airports or workplace surveillance where security and employee safety concerns provide reasonable grounds to conduct monitoring.
As before, employers can complete and post a state-provided notice to satisfy the requirement for notifying current employees. The Connecticut Department of Labor has updated its sample poster, available for download here.
New Written Notice Requirement for New Hires
The Act mandates that employers provide new hires with a written notice that describes any prohibited activities and discloses that such activities may be monitored without prior written notice. Any employee hired on or after October 1, 2026, must receive the written notice prior to commencing employment.
The statute’s provision regarding circumstances under which employers may lawfully monitor without providing written notice was not amended. As a reminder, Connecticut law permits electronic workplace monitoring or surveillance without additional notice when an employer has reasonable grounds to believe that employees are engaged in conduct that (i) violates the law, (ii) violates the employer’s or its employees’ legal rights, or (iii) creates a hostile workplace environment, if electronic monitoring may provide evidence of such misconduct.
What Connecticut Employers Should Do Now
The Act is already in effect. Accordingly, employers should immediately take steps to comply with the statute’s new provisions, including:
- assessing the types of electronic monitoring they conduct;
- considering whether any types of artificial intelligence used in workplace activities could fall under the definition of electronic monitoring;
- identifying all worksite location(s) where electronic monitoring occurs;
- reviewing and updating postings to ensure that they comply with the law and the employer’s practices;
- ensuring that the updated posting is posted at the appropriate locations as required by law;
- considering an update to handbooks, particularly if a significant portion of the workforce is subject to electronic monitoring;
- reviewing and updating other existing written notices or policies on electronic monitoring to include the locations where the monitoring is conducted; and
- drafting the newly required new hire statement to disclose workplace electronic monitoring in writing to employees before their start date.
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For additional information about the issues discussed in this Insight, please contact the attorney(s) listed on this page or the Epstein Becker Green Employment, Labor & Workforce Management attorney who regularly handles your legal matters.
Staff Attorney Elizabeth A. Ledkovsky assisted with the preparation of this Insight.
