House passes bill to prevent companies from forcing employees to be microchipped

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The Indiana House passed a bill Tuesday that would prevent companies from requiring their employees to be microchipped.

House Bill 1143, authored by Rep. Alan Morrison, R-Brazil, would prohibit businesses from using the implantation of some type of tracking or identification device as a condition of employment for current or prospective workers.

The bill passed the House 96-0 and heads to the Senate for consideration.

Morrison said the process typically involves a rice-sized microchip that’s inserted between the index finger and thumb. The technology can control door or computer access, provide health data or even get food out of a vending machine.

He said he’s filed similar legislation for three years now and knows some lawmakers have brushed off the need for it, but some companies are using the technology. It has voluntarily been used at Swedish startup hub Epicenter and at Wisconsin-based Three Market Square for years.

Morrison’s bill would still allow a company in Indiana to offer microchipping on a voluntary basis.

“Privacy is an important thing,” Morrison said. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with us being a little out in front of something.”

Morrison said Indiana would be the sixth state to implement such a law.

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