NYC office blindsides workers by forcing facial recognition scans without warning | Latest Tech News
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They’re not prepared for their close-up.
A Garment District clothes company is forcing workers to submit to facial recognition scans for building access, outraging employees who ripped the mandate as ‘invasive’ and questioned how their biometric data will likely be saved and used.
Employees at Isaac Morris Ltd. — a Midtown attire company that produces licensed merchandise for manufacturers like Disney and artists like Lady Gaga — received a shock electronic mail last week from their IT division saying the previous swipe-card entry system was being changed with facial recognition, Simrran Bhatia, a model licensing technologist at the company told The Post.
Staff had been told somebody would soon be coming around to “capture a scan” of their faces, the message said.
The foyer of Isaac Morris Ltd.’s Midtown headquarters, where workers say new facial recognition cameras have been put in and are already in testing mode forward of a full rollout next week, an worker told The Post. Jack Forbes / NY Post Design
There was no up to date coverage, no consent kind and no exceptions — just a heads-up that the change was coming, Bhatia, 27, said.
The only different talked about, she famous, was coming into a numeric code at the door, which most people discover “less convenient” than a fast scan.
Another worker, who requested anonymity, said the change felt like “a total invasion of privacy.”
“We don’t even do anything super important … there’s literally no reason to be doing this other than to harass the employees,” they added, noting that workers largely work in administrative roles, customer support and basic operations and don’t perceive why facial recognition is all of the sudden crucial.
The cameras and software program are already put in in the foyer and in testing mode, with the system anticipated to go live next week, Bhatia said.
Bhatia said she and her colleagues need solutions on how long their biometric data will likely be saved, who can access it and what safeguards will forestall unauthorized use.
“Could someone use our facial data or entry codes to gain access on our behalf?” she requested. “Without strict controls, our facial data could be circulated, repurposed or manipulated.”
IML didn’t reply to request for remark.
An inner electronic mail told Isaac Morris Ltd. employees that the previous swipe-card entry system can be scrapped for facial scans — with no up to date coverage or written consent required, according to workers. Provided to NY Post
The sudden rollout raises purple flags for surveillance consultants.
“This isn’t just creepy. It might be illegal,” Albert Fox Cahn, govt director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, told The Post. “New York law already bans compelled fingerprinting of employees. Facial recognition is effectively creating a fingerprint of your face.”
The dangers transcend the office, and are half of a broader, and largely unregulated, rollout of biometric tech in the office, cybersecurity consultants warn.
“Facial scans are immutable. Once compromised, they can’t be changed,” said Dave Meister, head of Global Channel and MSP at Check Point Software Technologies. “If this data is breached … the consequences can extend far beyond the workplace.”
A current ExpressVPN survey discovered 67% of U.S. employers now use biometric monitoring such as facial recognition and fingerprint scans.
At Google’s Washington campus, workers endure facial scans at building entry, while Intel makes use of related systems to scan hundreds of workers at websites nationwide.
Amazon, one of the largest customers of office biometric surveillance, is going through a class-action swimsuit over its Go shops for gathering palm and body-shape data without biometric warnings. The retail giant has also come under fire for utilizing facial recognition to monitor warehouse workers and supply drivers, Cahn said.
Surveillance advocates say the Isaac Morris Ltd. rollout displays a growing, largely unregulated development of employers utilizing facial recognition to observe employees in real time. Courtesy of Simrran Bhatia
Privacy advocates warn these instruments are offered as handy but often double as surveillance, particularly when consent is unclear.
“We’ve seen employers use biometric tracking incredibly invasively to monitor employee movements on the job,” Cahn said. “Breaking down their activity level by the second, tracking where they go, policing their time on a task. Sometimes they’re using it without even notifying their employees.”
Privacy protections for workers are minimal in New York, particularly in contrast to states like Illinois, which require informed consent and restrict how biometric data is saved.
“It’s just a wild west at this point,” said Daniel Schwartz, senior privateness and technology strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union who famous that New York has no statewide legal guidelines defending workers from biometric surveillance.
A City Council invoice launched in 2024 — Intro 217 — would ban most non-public employers in NYC from utilizing facial recognition to observe employees. The measure has majority assist but has yet to be introduced to a vote, Cahn told The Post.
“There’s a world of difference between using your face to unlock your phone and having your employer use it as a tracking tool,” Cahn said.
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