GPS Fleet/Video Tracking and Employee Litigation

From eliminating distractions to adding technological automation, there are numerous ways businesses can improve workplace productivity. One such method is the use of surveillance and tracking methods.

Beyond simple video surveillance in the workplace, employers can install monitoring software on company computers, and GPS fleet-tracking tech can be installed on company vehicles. Some business owners may not know how far they can or should extend their authority to monitor employee activity.

Federal and most state privacy laws give discretion to employers as to how far they can go with their employee monitoring program. In some cases, employers do not have to inform employees they are being monitored, but this depends on state and local laws. Some regulations require employee consent.

Monitoring must be within reason. For example, video surveillance can be conducted in common areas and entrances; however, surveillance in bathrooms or locker rooms is strictly prohibited and opens a company up to legal repercussions.

Video surveillance doesn’t need to be explicitly disclosed to employees and agreed to by your workforce. However, visible signage stating that the premises are monitored by security cameras can be enough to cover legal and ethical grounds. Also, just the knowledge that cameras are monitoring everything is enough to prevent internal theft by employees.

More and more businesses have incorporated GPS monitoring system into their daily operations for the numerous benefits it offers. Indeed, this tool has gone from being just a tool to keep a close eye on your possessions to being a great help in maintaining smooth business operations. But it seems like the list of benefits this system offers is longer than we thought, as it has been proven that GPS fleet monitoring helps with employee litigation.

No matter how hard we try to avoid it, legal suits are part of running a business. Here’s how GPS fleet tracking system can help you make your case when your employees bring legal action against your company or organization.

Ways GPS Fleet Monitoring Helps with Employee Litigation

Tracking employee activity

GPS fleet monitoring helps with employee litigation with its ability to keep records of where your employee might have been on a certain day and at a certain time. Using the data it has gathered, there’s a big chance that when a case is filed against your business over uncompensated working hours, you have enough proof to disprove such claims. Moreover, GPS monitoring is capable of determining whether or not the employee is exactly where they are expected to be at a specific time and whether they are not taking unnecessary turns, taking a turn they were not required to make.

Keeping records of where your business vehicle is at all times

If your business involves handling a large fleet, chances are, cases over damage property and road accidents would be a frequent visitor. While some owners would prefer to spend some money and settle out of court to get out of the situation faster and easier, it should not be the case for everyone else. GPS fleet tracking for business is here to help you deal with this type of situation.

As it is able to gather data on where your vehicle is at a certain time, GPS monitoring system can help you collect enough evidence to show that your vehicle was not in the vicinity or anywhere near when the incident happened. More than wasting money on an easier way out, you can defend your business the best way possible with the help of GPS.

Saving important information for years

As we have mentioned, cases filed by your employees do not only appear once in a blue moon. And some may even come after years after they last worked for your company. Tendency is, you might have even forgotten what kind of employee they were, what bad behavior they displayed while they were still under your supervision. But lucky for you, GPS monitoring system does not forget.

GPS fleet monitoring system helps with employee litigation in such a way that it maintains valuable GPS information for years. In cases where the litigation is levied months and even years after the incident actually occurred, you don’t have to worry about lack of evidence, as the system is capable of keeping years-old data, which you can use to make your case and prove your organization’s innocence.

It was made solely for military purposes, something it well served in the past; but now GPS technology has evolved into something far more beneficial than what its makers thought it would be. With the many benefits GPS monitoring for fleet has in stock for business, it won’t be long before this technology would become a necessity rather than just “another option.”

Conclusion

Tracking employees during non-work hours can be an invasion of the employee’s privacy, whether the tracking is done via the employer-owned or employee-owned equipment. When the device tracks non-work time, such as during the evenings, weekends, and when the employee is on vacation, the employer may gain private information about an employee that would be considered an invasion into the employee’s personal privacy.  For example, an employer may find out that an employee travels each day after work to a dialysis center; that the employee has a pattern of visiting gambling facilities; the employee’s travel habits; where and how often the employee shops; the amount of restroom breaks an employee takes during the day; the employee’s eating habits; the employee’s religious service attendance patterns or schedule; etc.  Not only does obtaining and acting upon such information potentially lead to employee claims of an unreasonable invasion of privacy, but could also lead to claims of discrimination or wrongful termination based upon off-duty conduct.