Connecticut Expands Electronic Monitoring Notice Requirements

Connecticut has enacted Public Act No. 26-73, An Act Concerning the Electronic Surveillance of Employees, which amends the state’s existing electronic monitoring notice law. The changes take effect October 1, 2026, and apply to employers that engage in electronic monitoring of employees.

The law does not create an entirely new electronic monitoring framework. Instead, it expands existing notice obligations by requiring more specific disclosures about where monitoring may occur and by adding a new written notice requirement for certain new hires.

Key Changes for Employers

• Notice Must Identify Specific Monitoring Locations. Employers that engage in electronic monitoring must continue to provide prior written notice to affected employees. However, the amended law now requires the notice to identify not only the types of monitoring that may occur, but also the specific locations on the employer’s premises where monitoring may occur.

• Posting Requirements Are Expanded. Employers must post an electronic monitoring notice in a conspicuous place that is readily available for employees to view. The amendment clarifies that this includes, but is not limited to, posting the notice in the specific location on the employer’s premises where the monitoring may occur.

• New Hires Must Receive a Plain Language Statement. Employers that engage in electronic monitoring must provide each employee hired on or after October 1, 2026, with a written plain language statement before the employee begins work. The statement must advise the employee which activities are prohibited and may be monitored without prior written notice under the law’s misconduct-related exception, such as unlawful access or disclosure of confidential information, electronic harassment, or other unlawful activity involving company systems.

• Location Disclosure Exceptions Are Added. The amended law adds exceptions to the requirement to disclose the specific location where electronic monitoring may occur. This location disclosure requirement does not apply if the premises are an airport or when the employer has reasonable grounds to conduct monitoring for security and employee safety purposes.

What Remains the Same

Connecticut’s existing electronic monitoring law continues to define electronic monitoring broadly to include the collection of information on an employer’s premises concerning employees’ activities or communications by means other than direct observation, including the use of computers, telephones, cameras, wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical systems.

The law also continues to allow employers to conduct monitoring without prior written notice when the employer has reasonable grounds to believe employees are engaged in conduct that violates the law, violates the legal rights of the employer or employees, or creates a hostile workplace environment, and electronic monitoring may produce evidence of the misconduct.

Recommended Next Steps for Employers

Employers that use electronic monitoring should begin preparing before the October 1, 2026, effective date by taking the following steps:

• Review Current Monitoring Practices. Identify all forms of electronic monitoring used in the workplace, including cameras, computer activity monitoring, telephone monitoring, access systems, and other electronic tools.
• Update Employee Notices. Revise existing electronic monitoring notices to include the specific locations where monitoring may occur.
• Review Posting Locations. Ensure notices are posted in conspicuous locations that are readily available to employees and consider whether notices should also be posted in or near the specific monitored areas.
• Prepare a New Hire Statement. Develop a plain language written statement for employees hired on or after October 1, 2026, explaining which prohibited activities may be monitored without prior written notice.
• Train HR and Managers. Ensure HR personnel, managers, and supervisors understand when notice is required, when the misconduct-related exception may apply, and how to document the business reason for monitoring.
• Review Security and Safety Exceptions Carefully. Employers relying on an exception to the location disclosure requirement should document the basis for doing so, particularly where monitoring is conducted for security or employee safety purposes.

Employers should use the time before the effective date to review their current practices, update their notices, and make sure employees clearly understand when and where electronic monitoring may occur.