Pennsylvania Senator Introduces Misguided Contractor Monitoring Bill

Industry News

May 4, 2020

Pennsylvania Senator Introduces Misguided Contractor Monitoring Bill

By Dan Hilton

As legislators continue returning to their state capitals, some are looking at ways to monitor employee productivity in light of the recent national wave of work-from-home trends.

TransparentBusiness, a privately held firm, has been aggressively lobbying state legislators to enact model legislation that would require their software to be installed on the personal computers of those that hold state contracts. In Pennsylvania, they were recently successful in getting this legislation introduced by Senator Doug Mastriano.

If passed, the law would allow state governments to closely monitor an engineering firms’ computer use, including taking periodic screenshots and recording keystrokes of an individual’s computer. ACEC has long opposed this misguided legislation as the concept of tracking computer usage and activity doesn’t come close to capturing all the work that goes into engineering and design. Engineering services encompass a broad range of activities that go far beyond computer keystrokes, such as work in the field, meeting with clients, team discussions, non-computer based drafting and designing, and other activities

ACEC continues to work with a coalition encompassing a variety of professional service providers. Our letter in opposition to the Pennsylvania bill can be found here.

Dan Hilton is ACEC Director Procurement Advocacy and International Affairs.

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