第2333期:Employer Use Wearable Devices to Measure Temperature(2)

Another device from the Massachusetts company Epicore Biosystems uses sweat to find out if a worker is overheating.

马萨诸塞州 Epicore Biosystems 公司的另一款设备利用汗水来判断工人是否过热。 

Experts say the effectiveness of some devices remains unproven although research has shown that some successfully predict body temperature. A 2022 study said age, sex, and the amount of water in the air make it difficult to measure body temperature. 

专家表示，尽管研究表明某些设备可以成功预测体温，但某些设备的有效性尚未得到证实。2022 年的一项研究称，年龄、性别和空气中的水含量使测量体温变得困难。

However, some groups worry that employers will use the technology to punish people for taking needed breaks. 

然而，一些团体担心雇主会利用这项技术来惩罚那些需要休息的人。 

Travis Parsons is with the Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America, a labor rights group. 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.” 

特拉维斯·帕森斯 (Travis Parsons) 是劳工权利组织北美劳工健康与安全基金会的成员。帕森斯说：“任何时候你给员工戴上设备，他们都会非常担心跟踪、隐私，以及你将如何利用它来对付我。”

United Cleanup Oak Ridge is the partnership that is responsible for cleaning up the nuclear reactor in Tennessee. The company says it uses medical examinations to make work decisions. Miller, the health supervisor said the company sent a few employees to see their personal doctors who found out they had heart problems. 

United Cleanup Oak Ridge 是负责清理田纳西州核反应堆的合作伙伴。该公司表示，它使用体检来做出工作决策。健康主管米勒表示，公司派了几名员工去看他们的私人医生，医生发现他们患有心脏病。 

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.” 

Perrigo 的安全官员罗布·萨默斯 (Rob Somers) 表示，主管人员会查看多次发出警报的人员的信息，并与他们交谈，看看是否有“他们无法在该环境中工作的原因”。 

Adam Schwartz is with the Electronic Frontiers Foundation, a civil liberties group based in San Francisco. He said the idea that companies could keep years of medical information on employees raises privacy concerns. He said the information could be used to withhold health plans or dismiss workers. 

亚当·施瓦茨 (Adam Schwartz) 就职于电子前沿基金会，这是一个总部位于旧金山的公民自由组织。他表示，公司可以保留员工多年的医疗信息的想法引起了隐私方面的担忧。他说，这些信息可能会被用来扣留健康计划或解雇工人。 

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.’” 

施瓦茨说：“该设备可能会造成伤害……因为你可以举起手说，‘我需要休息一下’，而老板可能会说，‘不，你的心率没有升高，回去工作吧。’” 

To reduce such risks, employers should permit workers to accept or reject using the devices. They could process only necessary information and delete the information in 24 hours, Schwartz said. 

为了降低此类风险，雇主应允许员工接受或拒绝使用这些设备。施瓦茨说，他们只能处理必要的信息，并在 24 小时内删除这些信息。 

Ikusei Misaka, a professor at Tokyo’s Musashino University, raised another concern. Misaka noted that information gathered from wearing such devices could result in workers getting unwanted marketing for goods or services. 

东京武藏野大学教授御坂郁生提出了另一个担忧。御坂指出，通过佩戴此类设备收集的信息可能会导致员工收到不必要的商品或服务营销信息。