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Many of the basic rights we all take for granted are not protected when we go to work. In fact, the ACLU receives more complaints about workplace rights violations than about any other issue. The 12-minute video Through the Keyhole sheds some light on one particularly important issue: the right to employee privacy, and how it is violated by employers through hidden surveillance, unwarranted drug testing and "lifestyle discrimination."

Through the Keyhole: Privacy in the Workplace, an Endangered Right

ACLU Resources

• Through the Keyhole: Privacy in the Workplace, an Endangered Right
• Legislative Briefing Kit on Electronic Monitoring in the Workplace
• Privacy in America: Electronic Monitoring in the Workplace
• Privacy in America: Workplace Drug Testing

New “Fusion Centers” Must Be Open, Carefully Monitored and Subject to Restraints, ACLU Says In New Report (12/12/2007)
WASHINGTON – New institutions now emerging in American life – “fusion centers” – are raising many questions about privacy and government openness and must be carefully bounded and monitored to ensure that they remain a legitimate and effective law enforcement tool, according to a new report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union.

ACLU to Participate in Privacy Day (05/17/2007)
Washington, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union will be participating in Privacy Day, an all-day event to take place during Washington Whistleblower Week. Privacy Day, Friday, May 18th, will be comprised of two panels on surveillance and a keynote address by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). Privacy Day’s first panel, arranged by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), will focus on expectations of privacy in the workplace; the second will debate on the growing trend of a surveillance society.

ACLU Raises Privacy Concerns Over Rhode Island's Proposed Regulations for Gaming Licenses (01/22/2007)
PROVIDENCE, RI - The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today raised significant privacy concerns over proposed regulations that would force many employees of local gaming centers to turn over personal financial information to a state agency. National privacy expert Robert Ellis Smith will testify at a Department of Business Regulation hearing tomorrow on behalf of the ACLU to argue, among other things, that the proposed intrusion on the privacy of employees will likely be of little use to the state, but could be a magnet for identity thieves.

ACLU and Allies Oppose Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, Say Plan Undermines Privacy, Provides Little Security (09/07/2006)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today joined with Citizen Against Government Waste and the Cato Institute to oppose the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). The WHTI will require all travelers, including American citizens, to have a passport or other "appropriate security document" to enter or re-enter the United States from countries within the Western Hemisphere, including Canada and Mexico.

ACLU Wins Challenge to North Carolina's Cohabitation Ban (07/20/2006)
BURGAW, NC - The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina today applauded a state court decision declaring the state's 201-year-old ban on cohabitation to be unconstitutional.

Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains: The Growth of an American Surveillance Society (01/15/2003)

ACLU Memo to Interested Persons Regarding Problems with Employment Eligibility Verification Legislative Proposals (12/07/2005)

Coalition Sign-On Letter to Senator Schumer Urging Him to Reintroduce the Notice of Electronic Monitoring Act (12/18/2003)

Letter to the House Urging Opposition to HR 3073, The Fathers Count Act (11/09/1999)

Privacy in America: Electronic Monitoring (10/22/2003)
Employers can read you e-mail, look at your personal computer files and eavesdrop on your phone calls. They can film you with hidden video cameras not only in public areas, but in locker rooms and even restrooms.

Legislative Briefing Kit: Electronic Monitoring (12/31/1998)

Lifestyle Discrimination in the Workplace: Your Right to Privacy Under Attack (12/31/1998)

Through the Keyhole: Privacy in the Workplace, an Endangered Right (07/26/1998)
Many of the basic rights we all take for granted are not protected when we go to work. In fact, the ACLU receives more complaints about workplace rights violations than about any other issue.

Take Back Your Data/Privacy Rights Pocket Card (12/31/1997)
A pocket card with tips for protecting your own right to privacy.