NEW YORK - Some workers are doing it at Dunkin' Donuts, at Hilton hotels, even at Marine Corps bases.
High-tech 'punching in' leaves some freaking out
March 27, 2008 at 2:13AM
Employees at a growing number of businesses are starting and ending their days by pressing a hand or finger to a scanner that logs the precise time of their arrival and departure -- information that is automatically reflected in payroll records.
Manufacturers say these biometric devices improve efficiency and streamline payroll operations. Employers big and small buy them with the dual goals of keeping workers honest and automating outdated record-keeping systems that rely on paper time sheets.
The new systems have raised complaints, however, from some workers who see the efforts to track their movements as excessive or creepy.
"They don't even have to hire someone to harass you anymore. The machine can do it for them," said Ed Ott, executive director of the New York City Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO.
The International Biometric Group, a consulting firm, estimated that $635 million worth of these high-tech devices were sold last year, and projects that the industry will be worth more than $1 billion by 2011.
Protests over using the palm scanners have been especially loud among draftsmen, planners and architects in New York City's Parks Department.
Ricardo Hinkle, who designs city parks, called the timekeeping system a bureaucratic intrusion on professionals who never used to think twice about putting in extra time on a project, and could rely on human managers to exercise flexibility regarding work hours.
"The creative process," he said, "isn't one that punches in and punches out."
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His political views differed from a transgender classmate’s, but they forged a bond that lasted a decade — until Vance seemed to pivot, politically and personally.
