Do Drive Cam Cameras inside Trucks Violate Employee Rights?

As a safety measure, many employers with driver employees have installed cameras inside the cab to alert drivers and monitor their safe driving practices, and potentially furnish defenses to the driver and the employer should accidents occur.  Some unions and activist groups have attacked such practices as violating employee rights, such as privacy concepts.  A recent NLRB case resulted in a federal appeals court ruling addressing a claim that the company created the impression of illegal surveillance of pro-union activities when a worker was instructed to uncover his truck's camera during lunch. 

The federal appeals court found that the drivers knew that they could be monitored at any time, so they would have "every reason to expect to be watched while on the job" without assuming it is an attempt to weed out or suppress union activities.  Stern Produce Co. v. NLRB, No. 23-1100 (D.C. Cir. 3/26/24).  The NLRB had found to the contrary, a finding reversed by the court ruling, by suggesting that a communication to a pro-union employee referencing a generally applicable policy of employee monitoring "is an unfair labor practice."  The court said this ruling showed "just how far" the Labor Board "strayed from its statutory mandate." 

This article is part of our May 2024 Newsletter. 

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