Is Big McBrother invading workplace privacy?
WINNIPEG—To a regular customer, the McDonald’s restaurants in Winnipeg give no hint that they’re testing controversial new devices for monitoring employees. But behind the grease pits and the clanging steel kitchenware, one of Canada’s largest fast-food chains is trying out technology that is rapidly changing workplaces across the country and raising concerns about employee privacy. Biometric devices—machines that identify fingerprints, hands, eyes or faces—were once used mainly for security at places like nuclear plants. But the devices are getting cheaper and catching the interest of business owners from small fish-processing plants to multinational burger chains. Hundreds of McDonald’s workers in Winnipeg now begin each shift by placing their hand on a scanner that confirms their identity and records the exact moment when they arrived at work. They finish each day with another scan. The company began the pilot project a year ago with two restaurants, and has since expanded it to 22
