The Monitoring of Employees’ Conduct through the Use of a Global Positioning System (GPS)

The crucial question that this chapter examines is whether an employer may track employees during work hours using the Global Positioning System (GPS) without violating employees’ right to privacy. This chapter argues that GPS installation in employer-owned mobile phones and computers can coexist harmoniously with employees’ right to privacy when the GPS tracking does not seek to keep track of employee whereabouts but, instead, to optimize a travel route and enhance employee safety by providing the possibility of immediate intervention if necessary, such as when a specified location is needed. If a GPS has been installed in order to assist employees in reaching a destination most efficiently, then this system must be placed solely and exclusively for this purpose, and the employee must retain the right to deactivate it at will.