Home—The Final Frontier: Why Privacy Means Protecting Workers' Rights to Time and Space

Authors

Joshua Fairfield, Washington and Lee University School of LawFollow
Amanda Reilly, Victoria University of WellingtonFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Belmont Law Review

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

This article critiques the failure of current privacy frameworks to protect workers—especially teleworkers—from the growing encroachment of employer surveillance into their homes. It argues that prevailing privacy regimes, including notice-and-choice models and the GDPR, inadequately address the systemic power asymmetries in the employment relationship, often enabling rather than restricting invasive monitoring. Drawing from labor law traditions, the authors propose a rights-centered framework that views time and space as essential for human dignity and autonomy. They call for a non-negotiable floor of protections, including surveillance-free periods, bans on data commodification, and the establishment of an enforcement inspectorate. By reframing privacy not as a transactional good but as a fundamental labor right, the article advocates for pragmatic legal reforms that counteract the exploitation of home-based workers in a data-driven economy.

Recommended Citation

Joshua Fairfield & Amanda Reilly, Home—The Final Frontier: Why Privacy Means Protecting Workers' Rights to Time and Space, 12 Belmont L. Rev. 445 (2025).