Employer Uses GPS Tracking to Investigate Woman on Sick Leave

Automobile GPS tracking offers a wide range of uses to make your life better. By installing a small device in your vehicle, you can protect your car from theft, make sure loved ones are safe while they travel, and keep an eye on teen drivers, all from the comfort of your home. Unfortunately, GPS tracking devices also have the potential to invade privacy when used inappropriately or without the knowledge or consent of the car owner.

Anthea Orchard, a British woman who worked for an emergency call center, recently experienced one of these unethical uses of GPS tracking when her boss installed a device on her car without her knowledge. While Orchard was on sick leave, her employer decided to track her car in order to make sure she was really sick and not just building up her own personal business. Neighbors told her they had seen two people acting strangely outside her house, and then Orchard began receiving phone calls asking her to do work related to her personal business. She later discovered that a private investigator had been hired to catch her working for her side business while she was on sick leave.

As a mother of two small children, Orchard expressed irritation that her privacy was threatened. Not only did she drive the car, but so did her husband, meaning her employer was tracking his movements as well. While no charges were filed, Orchard feels that the employer acted inappropriately and has left her job.

When automobile GPS tracking is used appropriately, it can offer great benefits. But when matters are taken to extremes, it’s easy to cross the line into invasion of privacy. That’s why many localities have begun implementing regulations regarding when and how GPS tracking devices can be used to track people without their knowledge, particularly in the case of law enforcement. Many states and cities now require a warrant to obtain information with an automobile GPS tracking device, just as would be needed to search a person’s private home or belongings.

It’s unclear why Anthea Orchard’s employer felt the need to take such extreme measures to investigate her sick leave. However, employers everywhere should take away from this story the importance of treating employees with dignity and respecting their privacy and that of their families.

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Employer Uses GPS Tracking to Investigate Woman on Sick Leave