Ummm… Of my last 4 employers of the last 15 years including my current employer, all 4 required picture ID badges to be worn at all times. One, a pharmaceutical company used an RFID chip in our badges, not to track where we were in the building to snoop on us per se, but as a proximity detector which was used to “swipe” in and out of the building and restrict unauthorized persons from getting into restricted areas of the building like labs, animal labs, clean rooms, areas where dangerous/hazardous materials were stored, etc. Even if you followed someone with authorized access through a restricted doorway, the RFID chip would set off an alarm if you were not authorized to be in certain areas. This could be overridden if you needed temporary access or had a change of job duties, but that required several levels of approval and an update of the RFID software. FWIW, we also had armed security guards at the main building entrances mostly because of threats from violent animal rights groups.
I know people who work for various DOD departments and defense contractors and RFID tags are SOP and have been for many years.
My current employer uses ID cards but our cards use a magnetic strip that allow access into the building and yes, we in HR can see who swiped in and at what time which we do look at in cases were an employee repeatedly “forgets” to clock in for their shift (and we use biometric hand scan time clocks – uses your unique handprint). Say an employee forgets to clock repeatedly but claims they were on time but the door access software shows they entered the building 30 minutes after their shift started – this would be cause for disciplinary action. The badges are also used to restrict access to some areas of the plant and to turn on certain pieces of equipment and or to track time spent on certain tasks. We are considering moving to RFID badges mostly because the magnetic strips fail, are more subject to damage and ware out over time. Another reason would be to track where people are in case of a fire or industrial accident that requires evacuation of the building. And yes, it could also be used to track the location of certain workers who are consistently AWOL from their work stations on the production line when they are not supposed to be, and yes this recently happened with one ee who left her machine to sneak away for an unauthorized smoke break and the machine malfunctioned but since she was not there monitoring like she was supposed to, it cost the company thousands of dollars in wasted materials and damage to the machine. She tried to claim she wasn’t AWOL but it was only because her supervisor happened to find her outside, that we knew she was.
And FWIW, I had to keep a picture ID on my person at all times when I was in HS and that was in the late 70’s. It was done not only for security but our ID’s were also used as bus passes for those of us who rode mass transit busses (we were a magnet school with kids from all over Baltimore City and there were no “school busses”), to buy lunches for those who got discounted or free lunches and to gain access to off-site events like school dances.
My point here is this in not a homeschooling issue. If Andrea Hernandez wants to get a job after she graduates, whether she ends up being home schooled or not, she and other homeschoolers are going to be in for a rude awakening when it comes to what most employers require now days in terms of wearing and using ID badges. It should also be mentioned that the school capitulated based on her religious objection and allowed her to use an ID badge without the RFID chip, just like the one she used prior to the new program, but she refused. If she doesn’t want to wear any type of ID badge, even one without a chip, fine, that’s her choice, but the school shouldn’t be forced to make her the sole or “soul” exception to what I think are some common sense rules. I would also ask her if she would object to showing a government issued picture ID in order to vote like we now have in PA? Is that the “mark of the beast” or just a reasonable way to reduce voter fraud?
My husband is required to wear a picture ID.
I am a teacher - we teachers are required to wear picture ID’s at all times. However, the students are not required to do so.
My BIL wears a picture ID with RFID tracker - he works for a defense contractor in MO.
This type of requirement is pretty common in anything but a very small business.
By the way, government schooling is compulsory ( that means the back up support of police force) for all children for whom parents can not ransom them by way of homeschooling or private schooling. Government school taxes and cartel practices make the unavailability of those options unlikely. Its godless philosophy is also established by way of government threat of police action.