Boss Wants to Install Auto Tracking System

The answer to the following item was misplaced in the Aug. 31 Shop Talk column.

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Q: I am a salesperson for an insurance agency and use my own auto in the job. Now, my boss is telling me he wants to install a tracking system in my auto that can monitor my location at all times. There is no way to turn the system off, so I feel this will be an invasion of my privacy since this also will be on when I am not at work.

Is this against the law? Would it be legal if they give me a company car with a tracking system?

--T.L., Pomona

A: An employer has the right to monitor the whereabouts of its employees when they are on duty, and an increasing number of employers of outside salespeople are using tracking devices for this purpose.

Do you know for sure whether your employer will be using the tracking system to monitor your whereabouts when you are off duty? An employer’s use of such a system to monitor employees when they are not working would probably constitute an invasion of privacy as well as be an expensive waste of resources.

You should explore with your employer whether the system will be monitored during off-duty hours or whether the device in your automobile can be disabled when you are not on duty. Perhaps the installation of a simple switch would solve the problem.

Your employer would have a stronger argument for tracking the whereabouts of a company-owned car during your off-duty hours, particularly if such a condition was imposed at the time you were given the car.

--James J. McDonald Jr.

Attorney, Fisher & Phillips

Labor law instructor, UC Irvine