As the use of technology, social media, and phone apps continues to grow and becomes more prevalent, the lines of privacy have become more blurred in both professional and personal life. People are constantly “checking in,” posting their locations, sharing photographs, and in numerous other ways willingly giving up their privacy to further blur the line. And in an attempt to promote efficiency and productivity, businesses are increasingly using Global Positioning Systems to track their employees’ conduct, offering some assurances that their workers are being safe and obeying traffic laws, following company policies, and keeping accurate time sheets.
Employers use GPS trackers in company-owned vehicles, smart phones, or other devices; they may require a GPS tracker to be placed on an employee’s personally-owned vehicle, or even require use of an app on a smartphone that uses GPS technology. But in using these tracking and monitoring methods, it is imperative that employers know their legal limits or they could find themselves in the kind of trouble that would not be kept private.
