California: No RFID Chip Implants to Track Employees

Don’t be surprised if the human resources administrator takes you through employee orientation on your first day of work, and after the usual introductions, signing paperwork, getting photographed for your badge, you are taken to the chip implant room. In case you are wondering, it is the same kind of radiofrequency identification (RFID) chip that your dog has under its skin in case it gets lost. It is the chip that has no restrictions on how much personal data can be stored and read by a special chip-reading device.

Now, if you work in California, effective January 1, 2008, your employer will be restricted from forcing you to get an RFID chip implanted under your skin. Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law, SB 362, which will “prohibit a person from requiring, coercing, or compelling any other individual to undergo the subcutaneous implanting of an identification device, as defined.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved RFID devices in 2004 for use in medical situations. RFID chips help minimize surgical mistakes and provide emergency medical first responders with your personal health history and any risks from certain medications you may have. RFID chips can also help curb the distribution of counterfeit drugs and help hospitals manage medical devices and equipment.

In the past five years, RFID chips have been used more aggressively in the workplace to track employee movement through a building. According to a report titled Workplace Privacy Issues Raised by RFID Technology, by Dr. Paul Roth of the University of Otago, RFID chips have been placed on employee badges that will not only open doors, but track the employees movement throughout the building. Some companies using RFID chips in the workplace do not have any data retention policies and personal employee information has been linked to medical records. In some cases, employees are no informed that the data is being collected and how it is being used.

Union organizations and civil liberties organizations have raised concerns about violations of privacy in the use of RFID chips. These concerns have created the need for state and federal governments to act on restricting the uses of RFID technology. There are currently dozens of applications for the use of RFID technology that may or may not have legislative restrictions, including:

Tracking ATM or credit card purchases that allow banks and businesses to share consumer interests, shopping patterns, and likely income levels.

Allowing grocers to keep tabs on you through loyalty card programs. California law restricts how this information can be used.

Monitoring your television viewing patterns through cable or satellite providers. Federal and state laws prohibit cable and satellite companies from selling the data they collect.

Tracking books and movies people use through libraries and video stores. Federal laws ban these organizations from revealing the data to anyone else.

Employers tracking keystrokes of employees and following employees as they surf the Internet at work. Employers are not required to tell employees that their actions are being tracked.

RFID technology is used in almost all automated bridge toll programs so consumers do not have to stop and pay money each time they use a toll road.

As with other pioneering legislation passed in California, more states are likely to follow suit and enact legislation to prohibit the implanting of RFID chips in people without facing civil and punitive penalties. Privacy advocates fear that RFID devices will become as prevalent as video surveillance. While the RFID chip technology has useful purposes, its applications in situations that violate civil rights must continue to be closely monitored and restricted by law.

Sources:

Office of the Governor
http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/search/results/36546c6903bbb366f3228aaa7ca4e347/

California SB 362
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/sen/sb_0351-0400/sb_362_bill_20071012_chaptered.html

FDA Approves RFID Device for Medical Purposes
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2004/ANS01326.html
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/rfid/

Workplace Privacy Issues Raised by RFID Technology
http://www.privacy.org.nz/filestore/docfiles/38873649.doc

RFID Technology – Where Is It Headed?
http://www.senate.ca.gov/ftp/SEN/COMMITTEE/STANDING/ENERGY/_home/ARCHIVE_HEARINGS_2003-2004/11-20-03agenda.htm