Comments to the Office of Science and Technology Policy on Workplace Surveillance Practices, Federal Register No. 2023-09353

The questionnaire has 4 sections, with questions for: 1. All workers; 2. App-based rideshare and food delivery workers (Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, etc); 3. Last-mile delivery drivers at companies like Amazon and FedEx; 4. Warehouse workers. You do not need to fill out every section! From: [insert your name, and what kind of work you do (e.g., Uber driver)]

I am submitting these comments in response to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Request for Information on Automated Worker Surveillance and Management, dated May 2, 2023. (Fed. Register No. 2023-09353: OSTP_FRDOC_001-004). I am writing to share some of my personal experiences with automated surveillance and management.

Section 1: General Questions (For Any/All Respondents)

1. What kind of work do you do? Please describe your job, the company you work for, and the industry or sector.

2. Do you know all the ways you are watched or tracked at work?

3. What kind of automated surveillance or management do you have at work? (app you had to download; device you use, carry, or wear; camera that monitors you).

4. Can you refuse the automated surveillance or management?

5. Do you have a say over when, how or where you are watched, managed, or tracked (“surveilled”)?

6. How has automated surveillance changed your working conditions, the way you do your job, or how you are treated?

7. Has your employer ever used automated surveillance to discipline or terminate you? Please describe:

8. How has automated surveillance and management affected you—whether positively or negatively—including any economic, safety, physical, mental, and emotional impacts?

9. If you are disabled, differently abled, or have a health condition, how has automated surveillance affected you?

10. Has automated surveillance ever impacted your ability to organize a union, or work with others to improve the pay or work conditions?

Section 2: App-Based Rideshare and Food Delivery Workers
Only answer this section if you work as rideshare or food delivery worker for companies like Uber, DoorDash, and Grubhub.

1. Which app-based companies do you work for?

2. How does automated surveillance or management affect how you are paid? Does your rate of pay vary significantly in ways that are difficult to predict?

3. Do you understand how your pay is determined? And if so, how is it determined? Do you have any input into that process?

4. Does automated management make your pay more or less easy to understand? Are you able to understand your pay easily?

5. Surge pricing, quests, price multipliers, and other forms of in-app rewards are examples of automated surveillance and algorithmic management. Can you share any experiences you have had with these or similar forms of automated surveillance?

6. Do you know, understand, or have the power to give input into whether or how app-rewards like surge pricing work?

7. How does automated management and surveillance impact how much you drive? For example, how do surge pricing, or trip acceptance rates affect whether or how much you drive?

8. How does your trip acceptance rate affect what kinds of trip offers you receive? Do you think that you receive different trip offers at different price levels because you have a better or worse acceptance rate?

9. Have you ever been deactivated or terminated from a rideshare or delivery platform? Do you know why you were deactivated/terminated? Were you given notice that you were going to be deactivated/terminated? Were you able to appeal your deactivation, or speak with a person to get more information?

10. If you were deactivated, how long were you out of work? How did it affect your ability to earn an income?

11. Are there any other ways you experience automated surveillance and management that you can share?

Section 3: Last-Mile Delivery Drivers
Only answer the questions in this section if you work as a last-mile delivery driver for a company like Amazon or FedEx.

1. What kind of work do you do?

2. Describe the video surveillance you have on the job.

3. How does this surveillance affect you? Does it change the way you do your job? Does it make your job easier or more difficult?

4. Do you know if you have the power to determine your delivery routes? Do you have any input over your routes?

5. Do you know how they are determined? Is the process for determining routes transparent?

6. Do you feel like you have enough time each day to complete your prescribed delivery routes? If not, can you speak to a person to get your routes changed?

7. Do you feel pressure to complete an unreasonable number of deliveries on some days? How does that affect your safety or your health? Do you have time for meal and restroom breaks?

Section 4: Warehouse Workers Only answer the questions in this section if you work at a warehouse or distribution facility.

1. What kind of work do you do?

2. Describe the video surveillance you have on the job.

3. Is your workload tracked over the course of the day by an app or a tablet or some other digital tool?

4. Does your employer use a digital system to set a certain workload quota for you? Is that quota personalized (i.e., do other workers have different quotas)? Does the quota change over time?

5. What happens if you don’t meet your quota?

6. How do quotas and other workplace management systems affect your day-to-day? Does it impact the health and safety of your workplace?

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