H.R. 9402 — Stop Spying Bosses Act

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including administrator, aggregated data, applicant, automated decision system, biometric information, collect, covered individual, employ, employer, and employee data. It specifies that an automated decision system uses computation to produce predictions, scores, or decisions but excludes passive computing infrastructure, and that biometric information covers fingerprints, voice prints, iris scans, facial mapping, and gait but excludes photographs and recordings that cannot identify an individual.

This section prohibits employers and their service providers from collecting or using employee data to monitor union activity, whistleblowing, political or religious views, unrelated health or immigration status, or to predict employee behavior or threaten health. It bars off-duty collection in break rooms, restrooms, lactation or prayer spaces, and employee homes. It permits collection only for listed job-related purposes if the data are strictly necessary, minimally invasive, disclosed in advance, collected from the fewest individuals at the lowest frequency, and deleted no later than 3 years after separation or application end. It bans selling or licensing employee data and bars transfers to third parties; transfers to service providers require individual opt-in, disclosure, and cybersecurity protections.

This section requires employers to disclose to each covered individual (employees and applicants) the employee data collected, including what data are collected, how and when, frequency, storage location, who has access, purposes, any third parties involved, and how the data affect work-related decisions such as performance assessments. Initial disclosures must be provided upon hiring, within 30 days for existing employees, or before accepting an application; updated disclosures are required at least 7 days before changes or immediately upon new information. Disclosures must be accessible to people with disabilities, in plain language and the individual's primary language, in writing and electronically, and tailored to the purpose, job functions, and risk level. The requirements take effect 60 days after enactment.

This section requires employers to enable covered individuals to obtain their employee data within 30 days of a request and to correct incomplete or erroneous data at any time. For work-related decisions, it mandates disclosure of the categories of data used, provides at least 7 days for review of individual and aggregated data, allows corrections, and permits requests for reconsideration, effective 60 days after enactment.

This section establishes the Worker Protection and Technology Division in the Department of Labor, headed by a presidentially appointed Administrator. It authorizes the Administrator to hire technologists and other staff outside standard civil service and General Schedule rules, with pay up to Executive Schedule level V; creates four advisory boards (User, Research, Product, and Labor) composed of specified experts and labor representatives that meet at least twice annually and are exempt from the Federal Advisory Committee Act; permits a principal office in the District of Columbia and additional offices including in San Francisco; and authorizes the Secretary, through the Administrator and the Wage and Hour Division Administrator, to issue orders and guidance after consulting agencies such as the FTC, EEOC, NLRB, and National Mediation Board.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Wage and Hour Administrator and in consultation with the Wage and Hour Division and specified federal agencies, to prescribe regulations implementing the Act for most covered individuals and employers. It requires the Comptroller General, the Librarian of Congress, the Board of Directors of the Office of Compliance, the President, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to issue conforming regulations for employees under their jurisdictions within 45 days after the Secretary's regulations, with authority to modify them for good cause.

This section prohibits employers from discriminating or retaliating against covered individuals for exercising rights under the Act or for making complaints, seeking assistance, or participating in inquiries or proceedings related to violations of sections 3, 4, or 5 or worker privacy concerns. It requires employers to notify all covered individuals of these protections in an accessible, plain-language manner.

This section establishes enforcement procedures for violations of sections 3, 4, 5, or 8 of the Act. It grants the Secretary, through the Worker Protection and Technology Division Administrator, FLSA-style investigative and complaint-resolution authority over employers and covered individuals, requires prioritization of industries with high employee data collection and surveillance-related health risks, mandates referral of potential criminal violations to the Attorney General, and creates a private right of action for covered individuals and labor organizations to obtain double actual damages, statutory damages of up to $500 per covered individual (increasing for subsequent violations), injunctive and equitable relief, temporary whistleblower relief, and attorney's fees.

This section requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to study workplace surveillance and the collection of employee data about covered individuals by employers, including through technological means. It also requires annual reports to Congress and the public, beginning one year after enactment, that include findings and recommendations to reduce related harms.

This section directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to coordinate with appropriate Federal agencies and State regulators to promote consistent regulatory treatment of employee data.

This section provides that nothing in the Act preempts, modifies, limits, or supersedes any provision of Federal or State law or the authority of the Federal Trade Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, or any other Federal agency, except where the Act explicitly states otherwise.

This section provides that if any provision of the Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act and its application to other persons or circumstances remain in effect.