ARE CAMERAS SPYING ON COUNTY WORKERS?Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer Officials with the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. and a Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County employees union raised concerns Thursday about a system of security cameras that monitors workers at their desks. The cameras were installed this month at the Internal Services Department Communications Systems Support Division in a move that county officials said was designed to prevent theft. But critics fear that the cameras will be used to monitor other activities, including productivity. ``There are obviously privacy concerns,'' said Bart Diener, assistant general manager of Service Employees International Union, Local 660. ``It also sets up an atmosphere of distrust and kind of a Big Brother environment.'' In an anonymous letter sent to District Attorney Steve Cooley Stephen Lawrence ("Steve") Cooley (born May 1, 1947 in Los Angeles, California) is a veteran prosecutor who was elected as Los Angeles County's 36th District Attorney on November 7, 2000. He was sworn in for his second term on December 6, 2004. , the ACLU ACLU: see American Civil Liberties Union. and county grand jury, employees said they are concerned that surveillance systems will be installed in other offices. ``They are just setting a precedent now,'' said one employee, who asked not to be named out of fear of retribution. Mark Colton Mark Colton (17 March 1961 - 5 August 1995) was a British racing driver and software author. He was killed in practice for a hillclimb at Craigantlet, Northern Ireland, and is widely considered one of the best drivers never to have won the British Hill Climb Championship. , the Internal Services Department's human resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. manager, said division chief Hal Hunter Hal Hunter (born July 8, 1959) is the current Assistant Offensive Line coach of the San Diego Chargers. Prior to that, he has held positions at the University of North Carolina, Indiana University and Louisiana State University. had installed the cameras on his ``own accord,'' in violation of department procedures. ``We are in the process of conducting an investigation right now,'' Colton said. ``At the conclusion, we'll make a determination of what would be the appropriate corrective action A corrective action is a change implemented to address a weakness identified in a management system. Normally corrective actions are instigated in response to a customer complaint, abnormal levels if internal nonconformity, nonconformities identified during an internal audit or .'' Colton said Hunter had the closed-circuit cameras installed at a cost of about $5,000 as a theft deterrent, with a monitor in his office. Colton said no written theft reports had been filed in the office, although he was told some equipment had been stolen. Colton said officials have told Hunter to turn off the cameras. Hunter did not return calls for comment. The controversy is the latest in a growing number of incidents nationwide in which employees have complained about electronic monitoring in the workplace. Since 1999, the percentage of employers who electronically monitor employees has grown from 67 percent to 92 percent, according to a recent study by the National Workrights Institute, a Princeton, N.J.-based nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. that focuses on human-rights issues in the workplace. ``There are well more than 1 million cameras in circulation and nobody knows where most of them are,'' said Lewis Maltby, president of the institute. ``A significant percentage of American employers use hidden cameras. What we don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. is how many of the cameras are legitimate security cameras or how many are surveillance cameras.'' Elizabeth Schroeder, associate director of the ACLU, said the county case is unusual because it involves a government agency. ``It seems particularly unusual for a government agency to be doing this to its employees,'' Brennan said. ``Management can easily check on the productivity of employees through other means.'' A District Attorney's Office representative said no laws appear to have been broken and the office does not intend to look into the issue further. ``Public employees generally don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their work area or office, whether they be in cubicles or otherwise,'' said Chief Deputy County Counsel Donovan Main. ``There certainly are cameras in various county buildings that show public areas. But there would be no illegality if there were visible cameras that show the work area.'' Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985 troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com |
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