Companies are trying to test if they can make employees wear fitness trackers
Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
- A suggested amendment to West Virginia's public worker health plan would have asked teachers to wear a Fitbit, with a fine for those who fail to comply.
- Eight percent of employer-sponsored wellness plans provide fitness-tracking bands, and in other instances employers have introduced electronic implants and tracking devices for their employees.
- Concerns have been raised over the control these devices exert over the employee, challenging their autonomy.
In some ways, the nine-day West Virginia teachers' strike that ended March 6 echoed the momentous labor actions that have marked the Mountain State's history. But the story also contained a plot device straight out of a cyberpunk future.
A proposed change to West Virginia's public worker health plan would have asked teachers to download a mobile fitness app called Go365 and earn points on it by wearing a Fitbit, a wristband that logs the wearer's heart rate, steps taken, quality of sleep, and other metrics. Those who declined, or who complied but failed to earn enough points, would face a penalty of $500 each year. See the rest of the story at Business Insider
NOW WATCH: The best and worst things about the Tesla Model 3
See Also:
- We tried the Costco pizza that people are crazy about — here's the verdict
- How to use Robinhood, the popular app rumored to be worth $5.6 billion that lets you trade stocks and cryptocurrencies without paying any fees
- In the Gilded Age, Americans loved and feared the railroad companies — and it can teach Big Tech a valuable lesson
SEE ALSO: There's a scientific reason why people think this dog has a human-like face