Can employers ban AI smart glasses at work? As wearable AI technology grows, businesses are navigating privacy, cybersecurity, workplace surveillance and confidential information risks, along with their rights to regulate its use in the workplace.
In recent times, there has been significant debate and discussion about whether employers can, or should, ban smart/AI glasses from the workplace.
Subject to two exceptions addressed below, one of which is particularly important and needs to be dealt with sensitively, employers should have no hesitation in banning smart glasses from the workplace if they want to do so. Such a ban does not need to be confined to sensitive areas of a workplace such as bathrooms or changing areas. It is clearly a reasonable and lawful direction from an employer to its employees to not wear these glasses while at work. Given the damage a gormless employee constantly donning the glasses could cause to workplace culture and collegiality, employers should be actively looking at dealing with this issue.
One deeply problematic aspect of the glasses is the ability to secretly record audio in private conversations, which is potentially in breach of surveillance devices legislation. There is also the gross imposition on employees caused by a colleague continuously recording by wearing them. It is, frankly, odd and disconcerting conduct and employers should have no compunction in calling it out (although in more diplomatic terms). Apart from the two exceptions, relating to safety and disability, smart glasses have no role in the workplace and, if an effective ban is in place, any employee wearing them should be subject to disciplinary action. No need to be pusillanimous. Employers can and should act decisively in banning them. There will usually be no need for lengthy consultation processes or detailed policies. In almost all cases, a simple prohibition clearly communicated to staff will suffice.
There are two exceptions to this. The first is where the smart glasses might be used to assist someone with a disability, particularly the visually impaired. There are numerous accounts of how transformative smart glasses can be for those with visual impairments. Use of smart glasses by employees with a visual impairment should be permitted to the extent necessary to minimise the impact of the impairment on the employee’s ability to perform work and function safely and effectively in the workplace. Permitting smart glasses would very likely constitute a reasonable adjustment under disability discrimination legislation. Even then, however, if an employee with a visual impairment is permitted to use smart glasses, there should be rules about the retention and use of any video or audio recordings incidentally made as a result.
Secondly, if there are legitimate safety reasons for using the smart glasses, in that they minimise the risks arising from a workplace hazard, then this might be another justification for wearing the glasses, but again with rules about the retention and use of any video or audio recordings to minimise any potential adverse consequences.
Any rules or limitation relating to the use of smart glasses for reasons of safety or disability should be strictly enforced and, for the avoidance of doubt, if an employee is using the glasses for one of these sound reasons, that does not mean other employees need to be given permission to use them.
