Court case 18 SLa 959/24 – Court Ruling (Germany, 2025)

The controller is a company that is active in metal processing. Its factory building consists of a production hall where steel is processed, a break room, two offices, and an adjoining storage room. There are 34 video cameras in those spaces which cover the entire area 24 hours a day and the video footage is kept for at least 48 hours. Cameras are also positioned in the offices. However, the parties disagree on whether the cameras in the offices are merely "dummy" devices. The cameras are capable of filming in high resolution. Images from the video feeds can be evaluated “live” while they are being recorded. Information signs regarding video surveillance are located at every access door. Employees consent to video surveillance through a short, general clause in their employment contract. The data subject was an employee working with machinery in the production hall who's workplace was located a few metres away from a surveillance camera. The camera surveillance was the subject of a legal dispute between the controller and the data subject before the Labour Court Dortmund in 2023. The dispute was resolved through a settlement agreement. As part of the settlement, the controller agreed to provide the data subject with information about the video surveillance. However, after receiving this information, the data subject claimed that it was incorrect and insufficient and that the stated purposes of the video surveillance did not justify its extent. In 2024, the data subject pursued his claims with his lawsuit, which was filed with the court of first instance (Labour Court Dortmund). He demanded that the controller would provide the correct information and cease video surveillance. In its decision of 2024, the court of first instance dismissed the right of access claim and upheld the rest of the claim ordering the controller to pay the data subject €15,000 in compensation for a serious unlawful infringement of the data subject's personal rights. In the meantime the e