Subcutaneous Radio Frequency Identification Tagging of Employees

David Keene

Abstract

First, the article provides an introduction to RFID technology, explaining how it works, in what environments it is used, and for what purposes it is currently used. The article then examines federal and state laws and pending legislation concerning RFID technology, specifically from a labor and employment law perspective. This examination concludes that almost all of the current laws and legislative proposals fail to address labor and employment issues that will surely arise with the growing use of RFID technology. The article continues by creating a hypothetical whereby a corporate president demands that the company’s workforce be implanted with RFID chips, which raises a series of issues, including unemployment compensation, information retention and production, information security and theft, and labor relations (dealing with unions). The article concludes by noting that because technology is constantly evolving, it will be virtually impossible for legislatures to maintain pace with RFID technology and for governments that address cutting-edge issues.