Fired for Refusing 24-hour Electronic Monitoring?

 

In an interesting case filed in California state court, a worker alleged that her former employer had improperly attempted to continually monitor her movements through an app downloaded on her electronic device.  The employee objected that the app monitored her off-work duty movements, and uninstalled it from her device.  The complaint alleges that the employer even "bragged that he knew how fast she was driving at specific moments."  An interesting article over at theguardian.com summarizes the issue [and allegations]:

“Plaintiff expressed that she had no problem with the app’s GPS function during work hours, but she objected to the monitoring of her location during non-work hours and complained to [her employer] that this was an invasion of her privacy. She likened the app to a prisoner’s ankle bracelet and informed [her employer] that his actions were illegal. [Her employer] replied that she should tolerate the illegal intrusion."

It is interesting to see how the employment laws have (and continue) to change in light of these emerging modern technologies.  The courts have not been particularly receptive to worker invasion of privacy claims in general, but it will be interesting to see how this case plays out.  We will keep you posted on any developments.

-- Joe Seiner