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119-hr-9402119th CongressWALLET

Stop Spying Bosses Act

Sponsored By: Representative Deluzio, Christopher R. [D-PA-17]

Introduced

Summary

Limits workplace surveillance and employee data collection. This bill would sharply restrict what employers can collect and use about employees, contractors, and applicants and would create a Worker Protection and Technology Division at the Department of Labor to write and enforce rules.

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  • Workers and applicants gain strong notice and access rights. Employers must disclose what data they collect, how it is used, and who sees it, provide data on request within 30 days, let workers correct errors, and pause for at least 7 days before finalizing work-related decisions. Retention of separated workers' data is capped at 3 years unless law requires longer.
  • Employers and service providers face narrow limits on collection and transfers. Covered employers (those with 11 or more covered individuals) may only gather data that is clearly necessary for job functions, safety, legal compliance, or payroll. Transfers to vendors need disclosure, cybersecurity protections, and opt-in consent.
  • Enforcement gives workers a private right to sue and includes statutory damages. Courts may award damages starting at $5,000 for data-minimization or access violations and up to $100,000 for willful whistleblower retaliation.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

5 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

New limits on employer data collection

This bill would sharply limit what covered employers (those with 11 or more workers, contractors, or applicants) could collect about you. It would ban broad categories of intrusive data, like union activity, political or religious views unrelated to the job, health or disability not tied to duties, immigration-status checks, and data that predicts private emotions or beliefs. Employers could only collect data when strictly necessary for listed job or safety reasons, must use the least invasive methods, and must delete most employee data no later than three years after separation (applicant data three years after the application ends). The bill would also bar collecting data when you are off duty in sensitive places like break rooms, lactation or prayer spaces, restrooms, or your home.

New private lawsuits and whistleblower remedies

The bill would let covered individuals and labor groups sue employers for violations and would require courts to award at least twice actual damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys' fees. It would create statutory damage ranges: disclosure breaches up to $500 per person for a first violation (with larger amounts for repeat violations); data minimization or access breaches $5,000–$20,000 per violation ($10,000–$40,000 if willful or repeated); and whistleblower retaliation $5,000–$50,000 per violation ($10,000–$100,000 if willful or repeated). Predispute arbitration clauses and joint-action waivers would be unenforceable for these claims, and employers would have to give plain-language notice of anti-retaliation protections. State attorneys general and privacy regulators could also sue on behalf of residents after notifying the Secretary.

Limits on sharing and selling worker data

The bill would generally ban selling or licensing employee data and would bar transfers to third parties except when required by law. Transfers to a service provider would require the worker's opt-in each time, written disclosure to the worker, and cybersecurity protections such as encryption. New contracts with service providers entered after the law takes effect would have to follow the Act, and employers can be held responsible if they knew or should have known a vendor violated the rules.

Worker notice, access, and correction rights

This bill would require covered employers to tell each worker and the public, in a machine-readable form, what employee data they collect and how it is used. If enacted, employers would give notices when you are hired (or within 30 days for current employees) and applicants would get notice before an application is accepted. You would be able to request your data and get it within 30 days, ask for corrections under procedures the Administrator sets, and receive at least 7 days to review and request reconsideration after a work-related decision that used your data. Disclosures must be plain language, accessible, and in your primary language.

New DOL division, rules, and studies

The bill would create a Worker Protection and Technology Division at the Department of Labor led by a Presidential appointee. The Administrator could hire technologists, set pay up to Executive Schedule Level V, and give the Division investigatory and recordkeeping powers like those under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Secretary could issue implementing regulations, establish advisory boards that meet at least twice a year, and require a study and public report on workplace surveillance within 1 year and annually after that.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Deluzio, Christopher R. [D-PA-17]

PA • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7]

    AZ • D

    Sponsored 9/28/2026

  • Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1]

    OR • D

    Sponsored 6/23/2026

  • Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7]

    IN • D

    Sponsored 6/25/2026

  • Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3]

    AZ • D

    Sponsored 7/22/2026

  • Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]

    DC • D

    Sponsored 7/23/2026

  • Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35]

    TX • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

  • Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24]

    FL • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

  • Rep. Hoyle, Val T. [D-OR-4]

    OR • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

  • Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]

    WI • D

    Sponsored 8/27/2026

  • Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 9/2/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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