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The Problem and Its Solution The nationâs 6,000 plus transit agencies need to have access to a program that can provide authoritatively researched, specific, limited-scope studies of legal issues and problems having national significance and applica- tion to their business. Some transit programs involve legal problems and issues that are not shared with other modes, as for example, compliance with transit- equipment and operations guidelines, FTA financing initiatives, private-sector programs, and labor or environ- mental standards relating to transit operations. Also, much of the information that is needed by transit attorneys to address legal concerns is scattered and fragmented. Con- sequently, it would be helpful to the transit lawyer to have well-resourced and well-documented reports on specific legal topics available to the transit legal community. The Legal Research Digests (LRDs) are developed to assist transit attorneys in dealing with the myriad of initia- tives and problems associated with transit start-up and operations, as well as with day-to-day legal work. The LRDs address such issues as eminent domain, civil rights, constitutional rights, contracting, environmental con- cerns, labor, procurement, risk management, security, tort liability, and zoning. The transit legal research, when con- ducted through the TRBâs legal studies process, either collects primary data that generally are not available else- where or performs analysis of existing literature. Foreword Transit systems throughout the country have installed video surveillance systems in their buses, trains, and stations. The widespread use of such video surveillance systems has generated numerous legal issues, such as a systemâs ability to utilize video to discipline employees Legal Research Digest 52 TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM Sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration March 2018 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF VIDEO SURVEILLANCE ON TRANSIT SYSTEMS This report was prepared under TCRP Project J-05, âLegal Aspects of Transit and Intermodal Transportation Programs,â for which the Transportation Research Board is the agency coordinating the research. The report was prepared under Topic 17-02 by Larry W. Thomas, The Thomas Law Firm, Washington, DC. Responsible Senior Program Officer: Gwen Chisholm Smith (both union and non-union), safety issues associated with such use, public access to such video, and retention policies regarding video, among others. This digest addresses: ⢠The federal and state laws that protect the privacy of those under surveillance and the current practices employed to comply with those laws; ⢠Federal and state laws that provide for or deny public access to surveillance records and the current practices employed to comply with public access requirements that protect privacy rights; ⢠Federal and representative state laws that affect audio portions of surveillance records and the current practices employed to comply with those laws; ⢠Federal and state laws that provide for the retention of video and the current practices used to comply with these regulations; ⢠Employment-related implications for using inward- facing cameras that record the activities of operators and the current practices used by employers; ⢠Current policies used to determine when employees must activate or are forbidden from deactivating sur- veillance equipment and the legal issues associated with these policies; and ⢠Record-retention practices and public access require- ments associated with tort litigation. This digest will be useful to federal and state tran- sit and highway agency personnel. It also informs other professionals and students in the legal and engineering disciplines.
