Employer GPS Usage On A Rapid Upswing


Employer use of global positioning system (GPS)-based employee monitoring is a wave that hasn't even begun to crest. But privacy experts are saying it's the prime workplace issue to watch in 2005. As GPS use grows, so do questions over whether or not GPS infringes on employee privacy.

Employers, system providers, privacy experts and unions have just begun squaring off on the issue of GPS and privacy, offering what promises a heated debate in the coming months.

"Use of GPS in the workplace is already significant, and it's growing even more because the cost has dropped," said Michael Swiek, executive director of the U.S. GPS Industry Council. "And it's extraordinarily reliable: There's never been an outage. But does it violate employee privacy? It's a receive-only system. It just tells you a position. What the recipient wants to do with the information is another ballgame."

Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology is a navigational system consisting of 24 satellites orbiting the earth, sending information to receivers on its surface. The satellites, launched by the U.S. Department of Defense, are now controlled by a joint civilian/military board of the federal government. They transmit radio signals which, when received by a device mounted in a vehicle, calculate the vehicle's position on the ground and relay that information to a computer at a business' home base.

Federal law requires all cell phone carriers to offer GPS capabilities, and many consumers who use GPS do so through their cell phones. The information is a boon to boaters, lost drivers, worried parents and employers whose businesses depend on having employees on the road.

A fast-growing market

Experts estimate that the number of mobile workers in the United States will grow from 92 million in 2001 to 105 million in 2006. With that big an employee base outside the four walls of the workplace, more and more employers are using GPS to monitor the movement and flow of employees, goods, services and transactions.

GPS has caught on in the cable/broadband industry, among construction employers, courier and delivery services, employers in facility and waste management, security and fire prevention firms, carpet cleaners, plumbers, painters, the transportation industry, landscaping contractors, pest control companies and distributors of everything from beverages to building supplies.

"We started using GPS about four years ago, and we do it for two reasons," said Jason Kast, operations manager of Fleetwing Corp., a wholesaler of petroleum products in Lakeland and Cocoa, Fla.

"First, we wanted better control and knowledge of where our trucks were going and how long they were there. That helps us with customer service. If a customer calls, we can pinpoint the driver's location (and) tell customers where the truck is and how soon it will be there. "And second," Kast explains, "GPS eliminates use of log books." Fleetwing hauls hazardous materials, which are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and recordkeeping is part of the business. "If a driver didn't fill out a log book and the DOT did an audit, we could get into trouble," said Kast.

Better customer service also motivated Linda Wallace, co-owner of Ultra Modern Pool and Patio of Wichita, Kan., who employs 35 to 50 people driving a fleet of seven trucks. "I decided to use it for better tracking," she said. "I wanted to see how much time was spent on each job. We've had a few problems in the past-people weren't where they said they'd be. With FleetBoss GPS, we can defend ourselves to the customers. We know how fast the drivers drove, what route they took, and how long they spent on each job."

John Carlisle, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Highway Department, which keeps state roads clear of snow and ice, described how GPS helps the department monitor its resources. "It allows us to increase accountability, and to make sure our plows are spread evenly throughout the state," he said.

A legitimate employer tool

Of course, employers can also use GPS to monitor employee malfeasance in the form of unauthorized moonlighting, unnecessary stops, inefficient routing, poor use of time, speeding and excess overtime. Even privacy experts say that employer use of GPS tracking as a basis for adverse employment action is legitimate. There aren't a lot of statutes or court decisions on the use of GPS as a workplace monitoring tool. So far, only Connecticut requires employers to give advance notice of electronic monitoring.

Legal experts say that a court presented with an employee claim of invasion of privacy based on workplace use of GPS would probably rely on the analysis used in other types of workplace privacy claims and would likely balance the needs of the employer with employees' expectations of privacy. The needs of the employer start with an analysis of whether the monitoring is sufficiently related to a job function or the employee's fitness to perform that function. If there is a sufficient relationship with either factor, the court might balance the need for the information with the employee's right of privacy. Factored into the decision are the nature of the job and the degree of importance of the information.

The employee's expectation of privacy could depend on the degree to which the employee has notice of the monitoring and the times of the monitoring. Monitoring that extends into private time, such as breaks, lunch periods and non-work hours, and into private places, such as rest and changing rooms, likely would raise more significant privacy concerns, say the experts.

The benefits are clear

The benefits are clear," said Jeremy Gruber, legal director of the National Workrights Institute of Princeton, N.J. "The problem is that there's no law limiting the use of GPS in relation to work-related activities. If an employee is required to keep a cell phone on at all times, the employer would know where the employee went, all their off-duty activities, even the organizations they belong to. Even during the workday--does the employer need to know where the employee goes for lunch?"

Mark Rowe, senior research associate at the Center for Business Ethics of Bentley College in Waltham, Mass., agrees that GPS use "seems fair and reasonable when you're trying to get a package from one place to another. If the employer's aim is to improve customer service, it seems quite legitimate. Employers have a valid expectation that employees will adhere to the rules.

"But the employer should understand that GPS shouldn't be used to monitor the extent of an employee's personal business. There clearly has to be some kind of policy delineated and a lot of careful thought balancing the interests of the employer and the employee," commented Rowe.

"The most important detail of putting in a GPS system is communication, which is the underpinning of trust," said Rowe. "There needs to be consultation between employer and employee to establish a reasonable ambit for the monitoring process. With that foundation of trust, it's easier to manage."

Note: The majority of the content for this article originally appeared in "GPS Use Rising", by Dian Cadrain, J.D., February 14, 2005.

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