Connecticut employee monitoring law: the prior notice rule for electronic monitoring at work

Connecticut requires employers to tell employees which types of electronic monitoring may happen at work before it happens. The rule is section 31-48d of the Connecticut General Statutes, which the history note on the statute page traces to Public Act 98-142 (Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-48d). Public Act 26-73, approved on 4 June 2026, rewrote the section with effect from 1 October 2026 (Public Act 26-73). This page reflects the section as amended by that act. Its definition of monitoring is wider than Delaware's or New York's: it is not limited to email, phone calls and internet use, and expressly includes cameras. This page explains what the text says.

The short answer: a Connecticut employer that engages in any type of electronic monitoring must give prior written notice to all employees who may be affected, telling them the types of monitoring that may occur and, since 1 October 2026, the specific locations on the premises where it may occur, and must post a notice about it where employees can readily see it; the posting counts as the written notice. Employees hired on or after 1 October 2026 must also get a plain language statement before they start. No notice is needed when the employer has reasonable grounds to suspect certain misconduct and monitoring may produce evidence of it. The Labor Commissioner can impose civil penalties of up to $500, $1,000 and $3,000 (31-48d(b), (c)).

Who is covered

• Employers: any person, firm or corporation that has employees, including the state and any political subdivision of the state (31-48d(a)(1)).
• Employees: anyone who performs services for an employer in its business, where the employer has the right to control and direct both the result to be accomplished and the details and means by which it is accomplished (31-48d(a)(2)). Our reading, not a court ruling: that control test means people the employer does not direct in this way, such as many independent contractors, may fall outside the section.

What counts as electronic monitoring

Electronic monitoring means collecting information on an employer's premises about employees' activities or communications by any means other than direct observation. The text names the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, camera, and electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photo-optical systems (31-48d(a)(3)). Two kinds of collection are left out: collection for security purposes in common areas of the premises held out for use by the public, and collection that is prohibited under state or federal law.

The definition is tied to the employer's premises. Our reading, not a court ruling: monitoring of someone working from home, or of activity away from the workplace, may not fit the definition as written, which matters for remote workers and for location tracking.

How notice works

• Prior written notice: to all employees who may be affected, informing them of the types of monitoring which may occur and the specific locations on the employer's premises where it may occur (31-48d(b)(1), as amended by P.A. 26-73). The location requirement is new from 1 October 2026.
• Posting: each employer must post, in a conspicuous place readily available for viewing by its employees, including in the specific location where the monitoring may occur, a notice about the types of electronic monitoring it may engage in and the specific locations where it may occur. The posting constitutes the prior written notice.
• Statement for new hires: an employer that engages in any electronic monitoring must give each employee hired on or after 1 October 2026, before the employee starts work, a plain language written statement saying which activities are prohibited and may be monitored without prior written notice under the misconduct exception below (31-48d(b)(1)).
• No acknowledgment: unlike New York and Delaware, the section does not require employees to sign or acknowledge the notice.

Exceptions

• Suspected misconduct: an employer may monitor without prior written notice when it has reasonable grounds to believe employees are engaged in conduct that violates the law, violates the legal rights of the employer or its employees, or creates a hostile workplace environment, and electronic monitoring may produce evidence of this misconduct (31-48d(b)(2)).
• No location disclosure: the duty to disclose specific locations does not apply if the premises are an airport, or when the employer has reasonable grounds to conduct the monitoring for security and employee safety purposes (31-48d(b)(3)). Our reading, not a court ruling: the duty to disclose the types of monitoring still applies in those cases; only the location detail is waived.
• Criminal investigations: the section does not apply to a criminal investigation, and information obtained through electronic monitoring in a criminal investigation may be used in a disciplinary proceeding against an employee (31-48d(d)).

Enforcement

The Labor Commissioner may levy a civil penalty after a hearing. The maximum is $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second and $3,000 for the third and each later offense (31-48d(c)). The annotation printed under the section on the legislature's site states that there is no private cause of action under the section and that enforcement is limited to proceedings before the Labor Commissioner, citing a Connecticut Supreme Court decision (294 Conn. 461). In practice, enforcement runs through the Labor Commissioner rather than a lawsuit under this section.

What this means in practice

• Employers: list every type of electronic monitoring you may use, including cameras, call recording, computer and email monitoring and AI tools that analyse activity, say where on the premises each may occur, give that to affected employees in writing and post it where they can see it, including at the monitored locations. Give new hires the plain language statement before their first day. Update the notice when you add a new tool or location.
• Workers: the law gives you a right to be told the types of monitoring and where on the premises they may happen, not a right to refuse it or to see what was collected. If there was no notice and no exception applies, enforcement is up to the Labor Commissioner, who can levy the penalties above.

To compare Connecticut with New York and Delaware, see US employee monitoring laws, New York employee monitoring law and Delaware employee monitoring law. Connecticut also protects employee speech at work; see the Connecticut employee free speech law. For what current monitoring tools do, see AI monitoring at work.

This page covers Connecticut and is general information based on the General Statutes published by the Connecticut General Assembly (revised to 1 January 2026) and the text of Public Act 26-73, checked on 5 November 2026, not legal advice. Check for later amendments and court decisions before relying on it.