A remote employee was allegedly fired after refusing an AI-powered monitoring system that would use her webcam to photograph her roughly 160 times a day, according to a lawsuit filed in New Jersey.
Glennis Von Sander-Timinski had worked from home for Sutherland Healthcare Solutions for years, with court documents stating that she had worked remotely since 2018 and received positive performance reviews during that time.
In August, the company told her it would use Sentinel AI. Under the system described in the lawsuit, the software would use her webcam to take a photograph roughly every three minutes during the working day, for a total of about 160 photos.
Worker Challenges AI Webcam Monitoring
Von Sander-Timinski objected to the Sentinel AI system, according to the lawsuit, because she feared the additional pressure could trigger a flare-up of her lupus.
Her doctor subsequently wrote to the company requesting that the facial AI monitoring be changed to be 'intermittent or less frequently as it is causing worsening of anxiety and flaring her Systemic Lupus Erythematosus', according to the lawsuit.
The Lupus Foundation of America says stress can be a significant trigger of lupus flares.
Fired After Rejecting AI Monitoring
According to the lawsuit, Sutherland Healthcare Solutions gave Von Sander-Timinski three options: accept the AI monitoring, report to the workplace each day or face termination.
The lawsuit also reported that returning to the office would have required a six-hour round trip. Von Sander-Timinski lived in Atlantic County, while the company's site was in Clinton, New Jersey.
Management subsequently dismissed her on 8 September, according to the lawsuit.
She had more than a decade of service with the company, having worked for her previous employer before Sutherland acquired the business in 2013.
Her lawyers accused the company of failing to provide a reasonable accommodation under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
'Our client's employer failed to engage in the interactive process required under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and denied a reasonable accommodation that would have allowed Ms. Von Sander-Timinski to continue performing her job duties successfully, as she had done for years prior to the implementation of this monitoring system,' her lawyers said in a statement to The Bergen Record.
AI Takes Workplace Surveillance Further
The case highlights concerns over how far employers can go when monitoring remote staff.
A 2023 survey by the American Psychological Association found that 51% of workers were aware that their employer used technology to monitor them.
The APA also reported that 56% of workers who experienced employer monitoring typically felt tense or stressed at work. The findings show an association between electronic monitoring and workers' reported well-being, but do not establish that monitoring itself caused those outcomes.
A Canadian study of 3,508 workers found that perceived workplace surveillance was indirectly associated with increased psychological distress and lower job satisfaction through what researchers described as stress proliferation.
The researchers linked these outcomes to greater job pressures, reduced autonomy and perceived privacy violations.
Traditional forms of workplace monitoring, including keystroke logging and reviews of employee activity, have already raised privacy concerns. AI-powered webcam monitoring could take that further by introducing cameras into the homes of people working remotely.
Laws Move to Limit Employee Surveillance
The concerns raised by the case come as lawmakers in the US consider new limits on workplace surveillance, including the use of AI-powered monitoring systems.
Maine has enacted legislation restricting employer surveillance, including audiovisual monitoring in an employee's residence, personal vehicle or property unless the monitoring is required for the duties of the job.
The law also allows employees to decline requests to install surveillance-related data collection or transmission applications on their personal electronic devices.
New Jersey is also considering legislation aimed at regulating AI-based systems used for electronic workplace monitoring.
Senate Bill S4075 was introduced in May and was reported from the Senate Labor Committee on 1 October before being referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.
The bill would regulate AI-based electronic monitoring tools and automated employment decision systems. Among other measures, it would require covered systems to undergo impact assessments and independent approval, while restricting certain forms of electronic monitoring, including surveillance of employees in private areas, while they are off duty or on breaks, and in their homes, personal vehicles or other property.
The legislation has not yet become law, so its proposed protections are not currently in force.
