Lexology: iSpy: tracking employees with GPS technology on mobile devices

Lexology: iSpy: tracking employees with GPS technology on mobile devices by Wilson Elser, Dean A. Rocco and Christopher A. Gelpi:

More than 90 percent of the 322 million cellular phones in use in the United States contain global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices that allow wireless carriers to obtain continuous, highly accurate information regarding the location and movement of users. The use of this technology in automobiles and cellular phones helps individuals navigate their daily travels with ease and provides innumerable benefits to consumers and emergency response units. However, in an effort to increase employee efficiency, productivity and accountability, an increasing number of employers are monitoring employees by tracking their location and movement through GPS technology contained in mobile devices.

The introduction of GPS technology into the modern workplace raises a myriad of statutory and constitutional concerns regarding the threat it poses to an individual’s right to personal privacy. Although courts have yet to address the issue of employer GPS monitoring through cellular phones, constitutional privacy protections and federal case law on privacy may lay a doctrinal foundation from which to guide employers looking to use this technology in the workplace.