Avoiding Legal Claims When Monitoring Employees with GPS Tracking
11 Nov 2014The Phoenix Business Journal reports that 69 percent of workers in the U.S. admit to wasting time on the clock daily. With payroll costs steadily rising in practically every industry, it makes perfect sense that employers are looking for new ways to eliminate waste and maximize productivity in your workplace.
GPS Tracking and the Law
Fortunately, technology is rising to the occasion and can provide you with many tools to help fill that need. Before you begin though, it’s important to understand your rights, risks, and responsibilities when it comes to tracking your employees with GPS.
At the moment, there is some degree of uncertainty about the side laws will eventually come down on. Technology is evolving faster than lawmakers are able to find common ground or agreement. One thing to remember is that there is a fine line between keeping track of employees in order to ensure they are where they are supposed to be and invading their privacy.
Responsible Monitoring 101
HR Daily points out that legitimate monitoring of employees through GPS tracking during the word day should not violate an employee’s privacy provided that monitoring is for business purposes and not abused. In order to avoid liability, the article recommends that employers notify employees that they may be monitored by GPS tracking and what that means.
For instance you may want to explain that you have GPS tracking devices on your equipment that may be used to monitor the location, safety, and activity of drivers – for business purposes.
Under current laws notifying employees that company vehicles have GPS monitoring equipment installed and that they may be monitored lets employees know they have little expectation of privacy when driving company vehicles. To protect your business interests, however, it’s wise
to get consent forms in writing acknowledging that you have informed all employees
It’s when companies ambush employees with the information that you have been monitoring their activities without their knowledge and/or consent that problems could arise.
Potential justifications for GPS monitoring include the following:
- Locating vehicles in aftermath of accident, emergency, or theft
- Monitoring drivers’ activities to ensure proper rest and meal breaks
- Determine location and movement (this aids with dispatching nearest vehicles for callouts)
It is possible that courts would rule, in some instances, that an employer’s need to monitor the actions or drivers or location of vehicles would outweigh the employee’s expectation of privacy, but it’s better to err on the side of caution and inform drivers of your intention to monitor all vehicles for the sake of your business interests.
How Beneficial is GPS Tracking?
Of course you may be wondering if GPS tracking is beneficial enough for the potential legal fallout. The bottom line is that it saves businesses money at every turn with benefits like those below.
- Lower insurance rates.
- Lower fuel consumption.
- Routine maintenance notices (leading to fewer breakdowns).
- Less time lost to traffic jams.
- Reduced labor costs (creating more efficient routes for drivers leads to fewer overtime hours and much greater efficiency all around).
- Repeat business (happy customers who appreciate more accurate time windows estimates).
These are just the highlights.
In addition to getting signed consent to GPS tracking from all your drivers, make sure you check local and state laws to see if there are any have restrictions related to GPS monitoring in place.
Knowing the laws in your state, as well as laws that are in the works, can help you keep your business ahead of the curve.
Comments are closed.