DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa Judiciary Committee on Monday unanimously passed a bill, HF 580, prohibiting mandatory microchipping of employees.
Microchipping employees has become a growing trend as companies implant their employees with RFID microchips for security purposes.
The Washington Post in 2018 reported Three Square Market using microchips to allow their employees to open doors, log-onto their computers, and even purchase snacks from vending machines, just with a swipe of their arm.
The microchips also allow companies to track their employees using GPS.
Should this bill pass, Iowa will join seven states that have banned mandatory microchipping of employees. There are also pending bills in Indiana and New Jersey. Tennessee is considering a bill that would ban the compulsory microchipping of anyone.
The bill states that not only are companies prohibited from making microchipping (or some other implanted device) mandatory for their employees. The legislation also prohibits companies from providing an incentive or privilege to an employee for agreeing to have a microchip or other implanted device that is not equally available to other employees who do not agree.
Employees can still volunteer to be microchipped or have some other device implanted by their companies provided they are not required or offered an incentive to do so.
The bill is now up for debate and a vote by the full House.