Connecticut was the first state to require employers to give written notice before monitoring workers electronically. If your business uses a GPS time clock, a digital scheduling app, or any system that captures where employees are and when, the Connecticut electronic monitoring law likely applies to you. Here is what the statute covers, what your disclosure needs to say, and how to stay compliant without a lawyer on retainer.
What Connecticut’s electronic monitoring law actually says
Connecticut General Statutes § 31-48d, enacted in 1998, requires employers to give employees prior written notice before monitoring or intercepting their electronic communications or activities on the job. The statute covers:
- Internet and email usage on company systems
- Telephone calls made through company equipment
- Any other electronic monitoring of employee activity
That last clause is intentionally broad. The law predates GPS tracking, but Connecticut’s Department of Labor and most employment attorneys interpret “any other electronic monitoring” to include location tracking systems, including the GPS time clocks now standard in small-business software.
The law applies to any employer with one or more employees in Connecticut. There is no small-business exemption.
Does a GPS time clock count as electronic monitoring?
Almost certainly yes. A GPS time clock captures an employee’s coordinates at a specific time and stores them digitally. That fits the definition of “electronic monitoring of employee activity” under § 31-48d, even though the statute does not name GPS explicitly.
The same logic applies to geofencing. When you draw a radius around a job site and your app flags employees who clock in from outside it, you are monitoring their location electronically. The flag in your exception inbox is a record of that monitoring.
What your written notice must include
The statute requires the notice to describe three things:
- The types of monitoring that may occur (GPS, internet, email, phone)
- The means by which monitoring is done (which software or device)
- The timing or frequency (every clock-in, continuously, or randomly)
A one-page policy given to each employee at hire and signed for the record satisfies this requirement. You do not need a lawyer to write it, though having one review the language once is a reasonable precaution.
Sample clause (illustrative, not legal advice)
Where geofencing fits in
Geofencing adds a layer on top of basic GPS. Your app draws a virtual boundary around a location; clock-ins within the boundary are accepted and those outside are flagged or blocked. If you use geofencing, name it explicitly in your disclosure. A general “we track GPS at each punch” clause is probably sufficient, but specificity removes ambiguity.
For a practical guide to drawing geofences, see How to Draw a Geofence. For a broader look at how GPS time tracking works from day one, the GPS Time Clock Setup Guide covers the full sequence.
How to set up the disclosure
- 01
Audit what you collect
List every digital tool that touches employees: time clock, scheduling app, kiosk, any location alerts. Note what each captures and when. - 02
Draft a plain-English policy
Write one or two paragraphs describing the monitoring (what, how, when). Plain English is better than legal boilerplate. Employees read plain English. - 03
Deliver it before monitoring starts
The law requires prior notice. Build delivery into your onboarding checklist. New employees should sign the form before their first clock-in. - 04
Get a signed acknowledgment
Keep the signed form in the employee file. Digital signatures are fine. If you use electronic onboarding, a checkbox with the full policy text and a date stamp is sufficient. - 05
Update the policy when you add new tools
If you add a new monitoring capability, revise the disclosure and have employees acknowledge the change. A brief email with a signature line counts.
Penalties for skipping the notice
Connecticut’s Labor Commissioner can impose civil penalties per violation:
- First violation: up to $500
- Second violation: up to $1,000
- Third and subsequent violations: up to $3,000
Each employee monitored without notice is a separate potential violation. A team of ten monitored without disclosure for a year can add up to a substantial penalty. Beyond the fine, a complaint filed with the Department of Labor creates a public record that outlasts the dollar amount.
Other states with similar rules
Connecticut was first but is not alone. Several states have enacted employee monitoring notice requirements:
- New York: N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 52-c (effective May 2022) requires written notice before monitoring employee email, internet, or telephone activity. See New York Wage Notice and Time Tracking Requirements for the full breakdown.
- Delaware: The Delaware Electronic Monitoring Act requires employers to notify employees before any electronic monitoring.
- Illinois: No statewide monitoring notice law, but the Illinois BIPA statute governs biometric data specifically. See Illinois BIPA Compliance for Biometric Time Clocks for that topic.