The Data-Driven Workplace and the Case for Worker Technology Rights

Abstract

Employers increasingly use digital technologies in the workplace to capture and analyze worker data, electronically monitor their workers, and manage them using algorithms. In this article, the authors analyze employers’ use of data-driven systems in a diverse set of industries and identify a range of potential harms to workers, including bias and discrimination, de-skilling, unsafe work speeds, and loss of autonomy and dignity. In light of the current absence of regulation or oversight, the authors argue that workers deserve a robust set of 21st-century labor standards regarding digital technologies. They lay out a detailed public policy framework that establishes worker rights and employer responsibilities to ensure that the data-driven workplace benefits, rather than harms, workers.