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Work in a single person office that the other personnel in my department rotate through the 24 hour day on a shift basis.
I am wondering if there is a camera in the office? What would be a good way to verify this?
Full disclosure, I’m not doing anything strange or exotic, just would prefer to know whether my behavior and that of my coworkers is being surveilled 24/7.
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Originally Posted by: FedFedFed  Work in a single person office that the other personnel in my department rotate through the 24 hour day on a shift basis.
I am wondering if there is a camera in the office? What would be a good way to verify this?
Full disclosure, I’m not doing anything strange or exotic, just would prefer to know whether my behavior and that of my coworkers is being surveilled 24/7. Why would you even wonder if there's a camera in your office? Setting that aside, If your workplace is covered by a collective bargaining agreement it is highly unlikely that there is a hidden camera. You might check with the union on what is allowed. Second, courts have routinely held that you have no expectation of privacy in your office, so if there is a camera then there is no recourse unless it violates the collective bargaining agreement. If you use a laptop, then it's almost guaranteed that you have a camera and microphone capable of monitoring you. A piece of black electrical tape will take care of the camera. Let's assume there is a camera, that is a one-shot weapon. If you did something inappropriate and they use the footage to discipline you, the cat is out of the bag and everyone will know. If your employer wants to monitor you there are a dozen simpler ways to do it.
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How might my employer monitor me using the dozen simpler ways?
I am more concerned with being silently judged if I sneeze and don’t immediately wash my hands or something.
It’s more of a “shower thought” than anything else, but I’d just like to know.
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Originally Posted by: FedFedFed How might my employer monitor me using the dozen simpler ways?
I am more concerned with being silently judged if I sneeze and don’t immediately wash my hands or something.
It’s more of a “shower thought” than anything else, but I’d just like to know. Please forget that I even mentioned it. Your employer doesn't care how often you wash your hands. If your coworkers do, then they will take steps to disinfect the shared workspaces. I've worked with people who were seriously germophobic, way before COVID, and they always had a routine they went through to ease their concerns. Someone who has that condition will never be happy with the safeguards others take. I'm a supervisor, and if one of my direct reports came to me with a complaint that "Mary sneezed and didn't cover her mouth properly" I would have a conversation with the complainant about appropriate workplace conduct, not with Matry. Relax, you are not under any threat.
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Quoting ES: "I've worked with people who were seriously germophobic, way before COVID, and they always had a routine they went through to ease their concerns. Someone who has that condition will never be happy with the safeguards others take. I'm a supervisor, and if one of my direct reports came to me with a complaint that "Mary sneezed and didn't cover her mouth properly" I would have a conversation with the complainant about appropriate workplace conduct. --- "Having a conversation about appropriate workplace conduct" with an employee, merely because they expressed a medical concern seems like it could bounce back & get all over you. I have an immune disorder associated with a covered disability. Whether or not "someone like you" considers "someone like me" a "germaphobe" is immaterial. I have legitimate medical needs, and because of that, I also have some legal rights that you don't get to take away just because you BELIEVE I shouldn't have those protections. The LAW gives them to every covered worker. What's a valid non-discriminatory reason for lecturing me on conduct because you have labeled me a "germaphobe?" How do you think you would defend that action in a hearing? I'm asking sincerely. That information would be very useful to me. Edited by user Thursday, November 11, 2021 4:35:47 PM(UTC)
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