{"id":29632,"date":"2022-10-11T14:37:22","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T18:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.itworldcanada.com?p=507374"},"modified":"2022-10-13T09:39:50","modified_gmt":"2022-10-13T13:39:50","slug":"ontarios-employee-electronic-monitoring-law-comes-into-effect-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technewsday.com\/staging\/ontarios-employee-electronic-monitoring-law-comes-into-effect-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario\u2019s employee electronic monitoring law comes into effect today"},"content":{"rendered":"

After six months\u2019 notice that they had to be prepared, all provincially-regulated employers with more than 25 workers today must have a written policy describing how they electronically monitor staff. Among those to be included in the worker count are homeworkers and probationary employees, some trainees, employees on definite term or specific task contracts of any length and those on a leave of absence.<\/p>\n

Daniel Michaluk<\/a>, who focuses on privacy and cybersecurity law at Borden Ladner Gervais, said today he believes most medium and large firms in the province are prepared, judging by the number of requests to review proposed policies he has received. He\u2019s not sure, however, about the readiness of small firms.<\/p>\n

It shouldn\u2019t be hard to create a policy with a list of the types of IT monitoring and what each does in generic terms, he added. A company could create a chart of its tools (for example \u201cendpoint detection\u201d) and a brief description of what each does (\u201cmonitors the use of workstations and compares it against a baseline to detect abnormal use\u201d).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe trick is to get a balance between detail and high-level information.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you can achieve meaningful information without getting into technical specifications,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

But a policy that has only a brief sentence that says \u2018We monitor the network and therefore you should have no expectation of privacy\u2019 is \u201cinadequate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The policy \u201cis not necessarily the end of the dialogue between an employer and their employees,\u201d he stressed. \u201cIt could be the starting point \u2026 You invite inquiries and you should be prepared to answer them.\u201d<\/p>\n

An employer can have different policies for different employees. For example, provincial guidance says, a retail employer may have one policy that applies to its office staff and a different policy that applies to its in-store sales staff.<\/p>\n

The obligation to have a policy is part of the Employment Standard Act. Note that as of January 1, 2023, business consultants and information technology consultants will no longer be covered by that act and will no longer be subject to electronic monitoring policy requirements.<\/p>\n

The act doesn\u2019t establish a right for employees not to be electronically monitored by their employer. Nor does it create any new privacy rights for employees. The government of Doug Ford has talked about bringing in privacy legislation but hasn\u2019t so far.<\/p>\n

Nor does the legislation define electronic monitoring. However, provincial guidance released in August<\/a> says it includes all forms of employee and assignment employee monitoring that is done electronically. Some examples include where an employer:<\/p>\n