In the future, there will be much stricter rules for the monitoring, control or selection of employees by artificial intelligence in Germany. As the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" ("SZ", Friday edition) reports, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser and Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (both SPD) want to prevent a complete surveillance of employees in a new employee data protection law.
AI will play an increasingly important role. This holds "immense opportunities, but also the dangers that processes are no longer transparent, that people are discriminated against or personal rights are violated by inadmissible surveillance," Faeser told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Video recordings only in exceptional cases
According to the report, there is also an urgent need for action for Labour Minister Heil. He is concerned that "good working conditions, fair wages and occupational health and safety also apply in the digital world of work," he told the newspaper. Faeser and Heil want to present a first draft of the law in the summer, as the "SZ" writes, citing government circles.
An internal paper of the ministries, which is available to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung", outlines how sensitive data on the state of health, whereabouts of employees, political beliefs, sexual orientation or origin are to be protected.
Only in exceptional cases, for example to avert danger for employees, will video recordings be permitted in the future. "We want to regulate this clearly, especially for dangerous situations, for example with firefighters on duty," said Faeser. In general, however, there must be "protected retreats in which one can be unobserved".
Employers should "not be allowed to create complete movement and performance profiles of their employees," according to the report in the paper of the ministries. In general, "necessary and sensible practices" such as the recording of driving times and rest periods should remain possible.
The government also wants to restrict the use of AI in application processes. Such programs must comply with scientific standards and may only test characteristics that are significant for a position. According to the ministries' paper, "it should be clearly and reliably stated which questions are inadmissible in the job interview". Medical examinations should only be permitted if they are necessary for the performance of an activity or are required by law, for example in the case of pilots.