Privacy concerns must be considered when using GPS monitoring in the workplace
By: Carly Weeks, CanWest News Service
OTTAWA — Employers must take the privacy rights of their workers into serious consideration before installing GPS technology, and must inform employees how the technology is going to be used, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said on Thursday.
Stoddart's warning was prompted by a case involving a Canadian telecommunications company that uses global positioning systems in company cars to keep tabs on employees and, in some cases, evaluate them.
“Our biggest concern was about using GPS as an employee surveillance tool,” Stoddart said during a speech about workplace privacy in Toronto.
The warning comes after employees of a telecommunications company complained GPS installed in company cars violated their privacy. They feared it was being used to track their performance and daily movements.
The employees said they weren’t informed of the type of information being collected and what it was being used for, and said the company didn’t ask for their consent. The privacy commission has declined to name the company involved in the case, citing privacy reasons.
The commission is in the midst of investigating another complaint against a company that uses GPS, but declined to name the company.
Although the privacy commission concluded the company’s use of GPS was justified in most instances,
like quickly dispatching field employees to job sites, it also noted the technology was being used for “employee management” purposes.
For instance, the company said it may monitor an employee’s use of a company car after hours if it received complaints from others. It also said some information collected by GPS would help it identify employees who drive too fast or dangerously and may need training.
But employees said they were concerned managers would use GPS to prove they are being unproductive and to punish them. The company denied the claims, and said managers are busy throughout the day.
Furthermore, the tracking system doesn’t automatically notify them if, for instance, an employee doesn’t arrive at a job site on time.
OTTAWA — Employers must take the privacy rights of their workers into serious consideration before installing GPS technology, and must inform employees how the technology is going to be used, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said on Thursday.
Stoddart's warning was prompted by a case involving a Canadian telecommunications company that uses global positioning systems in company cars to keep tabs on employees and, in some cases, evaluate them.
“Our biggest concern was about using GPS as an employee surveillance tool,” Stoddart said during a speech about workplace privacy in Toronto.
The warning comes after employees of a telecommunications company complained GPS installed in company cars violated their privacy. They feared it was being used to track their performance and daily movements.
The employees said they weren’t informed of the type of information being collected and what it was being used for, and said the company didn’t ask for their consent. The privacy commission has declined to name the company involved in the case, citing privacy reasons.
The commission is in the midst of investigating another complaint against a company that uses GPS, but declined to name the company.
Although the privacy commission concluded the company’s use of GPS was justified in most instances,
like quickly dispatching field employees to job sites, it also noted the technology was being used for “employee management” purposes.
For instance, the company said it may monitor an employee’s use of a company car after hours if it received complaints from others. It also said some information collected by GPS would help it identify employees who drive too fast or dangerously and may need training.
But employees said they were concerned managers would use GPS to prove they are being unproductive and to punish them. The company denied the claims, and said managers are busy throughout the day.
Furthermore, the tracking system doesn’t automatically notify them if, for instance, an employee doesn’t arrive at a job site on time.
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