iction on the grounds that a videotape made by federal agents violated the Omnibus Crime Control Act. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, finding that the act did not apply to video-only surveillance.
A federal district court in Kansas, in a case affirmed by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, applied that holding to the workplace in Thompson v. Johnson County Community College, 930 F. Supp. 501 (D. Kan. 1996), aff'd, 108 F.3d 1388 (10th Cir. 1997). That case involved video surveillance in the locker area used by the college's security guards to store their rain gear, radios, and personal items. The security guards also occasionally used the area as a changing room. Several thefts from the lockers and reports that employees were bringing weapons on campus prompted the college administrators to install video surveillance in the storage room/locker area.
The court held that the employees did not have a reasonable expectat
...