Hello --
I'm writing to let you know that my second book has been released. "The
Naked Employee: How Technology Is Compromising Workplace Privacy"
(Amacom 2003) is a detailed discussion of the numerous, sometimes
disturbing surveillance technologies in use in the American workplace.
The book concludes with a strong call for Congressional passage of basic
workplace privacy legislation. Additional information is contained in
the press release at the end of this message.
The idea for "The Naked Employee" grew out of research for my first
book, "Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of Pornography in the Cyber
Age" (Routledge 2000). Pornography in the workplace has become a serious
problem for employers and is one of the primary reasons for the
development and installation of computer surveillance software.
Among the topics covered in "The Naked Employee" are:
* software to monitor keystrokes, e-mail, and Web surfing;
* video cameras (both visible and hidden);
* infrared badges to track employees and equipment;
* GPS units to track employee movements on the road;
* drug tests;
* magstripe and smart cards;
* bathroom equipment that electronically monitors employee hygiene
practices; and many more.
In addition, "The Naked Employee" looks at a number of technologies that
may be used to track or evaluate employees in the near future:
* biometric technologies such as iris or retinal scans;
* implanted radio-frequency identification chips; and
* DNA analysis for both medical or identification purposes.
I hope that you will consider purchasing "The Naked Employee" at your
local bookstore, or at one of the following on-line locations:
Borders & Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846
Amacom - http://www.amanet.org/books/catalog/0814471498.htm
Barnes & Noble -
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo...471498& itm=3
If you feel the book warrants it, please post a positive review to your
favorite on-line site (particularly Amazon). Such reviews make a
tremendous difference in the ranking and listing of books on-line.
Set out below is the press release written by Amacom to announce the
publication of the book. Please let me know if you have any questions or
would like additional information. I would very much appreciate it if
you would also forward this e-mail to anyone you think might be interested.
Regards,
Frederick Lane
Author, expert witness, and lecturer on the impact of technology on society.
================
Corporate America Is Watching
An Eye-Opening Look at When, Where and How
With the Constitution firmly embedded in our national consciousness,
most Americans cannot imagine being systematically denied its protective
principles on our own soil. Yet, each day, tens of millions of us spend
hours in offices, cubicles, factories, health care facilities, and even
home-based workstations where employers disregard our right to privacy.
While certain security measures may be justified to protect a company
from theft, sabotage, lawsuits, and the threat of terrorism, the state
of employee investigation and surveillance in the United States would
shock even Orwell.
When is a company’s prying and spying unreasonable, unconscionable or
illegal? How can an employee know when he/she is being secretly probed,
tracked, and scrutinized? What can a worker do to safeguard his/her
dignity on the job? A former attorney and recognized expert on the
impact of technology on society, Frederick S. Lane III takes on such
timely and vital questions in THE NAKED EMPLOYEE: How Technology Is
Compromising Workplace Privacy (AMACOM).
By itself, the issue of workplace privacy is worth examining for what it
says about the economic and social structure of this nation, Lane
asserts. But in light of the growing collaboration and data exchange
between government and business, workplace surveillance now has the
potential to play an important role in undermining our most fundamental
freedoms.
THE NAKED EMPLOYEE looks at a wide variety of current and looming,
sophisticated, investigative tools and surveillance techniques embraced
by employers in sectors from finance to food. Backed by statistics and
outrageous but true examples, Lane reveals how companies are able to
amass vast quantities and questionable kinds of information about the
people who work for them, while monitoring their every move on-site,
on-line, on the road, and after hours.
Among the many astounding innovations and unsettling topics explored:
* Common hiring practices, from covertly obtaining a candidate’s credit
report, DMV records and medical history to conducting IQ and personality
tests
* Hot trends in infrared and security card IDs, along with smart
uniforms clothing capable of revealing not only an employee’s
whereabouts but also the condition of his health and emotions
* State-of-the-art advances in GPS tracking of company vehicles and
equipment, as well as cutting-edge cell phones granting employers
continual access to their employees’ purchasing habits and leisure-time
activities
* The cheapest and most popular forms of employee drug testing,
including kits that routinely mistake ibuprofen (the stuff of Advil) as
marijuana usage
* Shocking evidence of secret medical and genetic testing on urine,
saliva and blood samples demanded from employees, in order to reduce
health and liability insurance costs for the company
Throughout, THE NAKED EMPLOYEE ponders the social, legal and moral
implications and the pervasive impact of such invasive extremes. Lane
culminates with a roundup of recent Congressional efforts to crack down
on insidious corporate tactics from hidden electronic monitoring to
discrimination on the basis of health most of which failed to pass. He
leaves readers with his proposed Bill of Employee Privacy Rights…and a
lot to think about while looking over their shoulders.
