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[00:00.14] Another device from the Massachusetts company Epicore Biosystems uses sweat to find out if a worker is overheating.

[00:12.62] Experts say the effectiveness of some devices remains unproven although research has shown that some successfully predict body temperature.

[00:27.23] A 2022 study said age, sex, and the amount of water in the air make it difficult to measure body temperature.

[00:38.65] However, some groups worry that employers will use the technology to punish people for taking needed breaks.

[00:51.67] Travis Parsons is with the Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America, a labor rights group.

[01:00.43] Parsons said, “Any time you put a device on a worker, they’re very concerned about tracking, privacy, and how are you going to use this against me.”

[01:16.11] United Cleanup Oak Ridge is the partnership that is responsible for cleaning up the nuclear reactor in Tennessee.

[01:27.79] The company says it uses medical examinations to make work decisions.

[01:34.43] Miller, the health supervisor said the company sent a few employees to see their personal doctors who found out they had heart problems.

[01:47.45] At Perrigo, safety official Rob Somers said supervisors look at information on people with several alerts and speak to them to see if there is “a reason why they’re not able to work in the environment.”

[02:07.64] Adam Schwartz is with the Electronic Frontiers Foundation, a civil liberties group based in San Francisco.

[02:18.25] He said the idea that companies could keep years of medical information on employees raises privacy concerns.

[02:29.42] He said the information could be used to withhold health plans or dismiss workers.

[02:38.44] Schwartz said, “The device could hurt…because you could raise your hand and say, ‘I need a break,’ and the boss could say, ‘No, your heart rate is not elevated, go back to work.’”

[02:54.11] To reduce such risks, employers should permit workers to accept or reject using the devices.

[03:03.15] They could process only necessary information and delete the information in 24 hours, Schwartz said.

[03:13.50] Ikusei Misaka, a professor at Tokyo’s Musashino University, raised another concern.

[03:24.13] Misaka noted that information gathered from wearing such devices could result in workers getting unwanted marketing for goods or services.