From Monitoring to Transparency: How Maine’s New Law Sets a Standard for Employee Privacy

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Maria V. Martin

March 10, 2026

Maine is joining a growing number of states (New York, Delaware, and Connecticut) that have established parameters regarding an employer’s use of surveillance to monitor employees.  LD 61 – captioned “An Act to Regulate Employer Surveillance to Protect Workers” – sets forth prohibitions and notice requirements with respect to the use of employer surveillance.  LD 61 will become effective on or about July 14, 2026 – 90 days after the current legislative session is expected to close.

Persons Covered by the Law
LD 61 governs all public and private employers regardless of their size, including the state and its political subdivisions.  In addition, employees are defined broadly to include any person who provides services or labor for an employer in exchange for wages or other remuneration.

Scope of the Law
The Act defines “employer surveillance” as “the monitoring of an employee by an employer through the use of an electronic device or system, including but not limited to the use of a computer, telephone, wire or radio or an electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photo-optical system.”  However, the Act does not apply to:

• An employer’s use of surveillance cameras for security or safety purposes
• An employer’s use of GPS or other safety devices on company-owned vehicles
• Surveillance that has been installed by or at the insistence of an employer, patient, client, or unpaid caregiver in a personal care services setting. A “personal care services” setting is defined as services provided by a licensed personal care agency, including but not limited to services related to daily living, household tasks, and medication reminders.

Prohibitions
LD 61 prohibits employers from using audiovisual monitoring in an employee’s residence, personal vehicle, or on the employee’s property unless the monitoring is required by the employer for duties of the job.  In addition, an employer cannot require an employee to install employer surveillance on the employee’s personal devices.  That being said, an employer can ask an employee to do so.  However, the employee has the right to decline the request.

Notice Requirements
Under LD 61, employers are required to provide advance notice to employees and prospective employees about the use of employer surveillance.  This notice needs to be provided:

• Before beginning the use of employer surveillance
• During the employer interview process to prospective employees
• In writing at least once per calendar year to all current employees

Enforcement
The Maine Department of Labor is charged with enforcing violations of the law.  Employers that violate this law are subject to a fine ranging from $100 to $500 for each violation.

Employer Takeaways
Employers with operations in Maine should begin to evaluate their surveillance tools.  Practical steps include inventorying surveillance tools, determining whether these tools are tailored to a legitimate business need, creating the mandatory disclosures to prospective and current employees, and training HR and supervisors about this new law.

The author of this article, Maria V. Martin, is a member of the Bars of New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maine, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.