The New Orleans Fire Fighters Association and other labor advocates are raising concerns after the city government used its $40 million street corner crime camera network to contest a workers' compensation claim and justify the termination of three city employees, according to the Lens newspaper.

The New Orleans Fire Department recently obtained surveillance footage while investigating a workers' compensation claim after a firefighter said he was injured by a faulty bay door at a fire station in June 2020. The department, armed with surveillance footage, denied the claim and fired the firefighter, as well as another firefighter who had corroborated part of the claim.

Later on, a city sewage worker who fabricated overtime — and caught lying by cameras — was also fired.

Labor union critics are arguing against what it calls “surveillance creep,” described as using a surveillance system, introduced for one reason such as deterring violent crime, only to later be used for other purposes, such as keeping tabs on the city’s workforce. The real violation, they say, is being watched.

“All city workers should be able to serve the city without being unduly surveilled,” said a statement from the New Orleans City Workers Organizing Committee, a recently formed group of city employees that is seeking recognition as a labor union. “NOCWOC is adamant that public crime cameras should only be used for cases in which a crime has been committed or public safety has been compromised.”

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