Worker fired for disabling GPS app that tracked her 24 hours a day
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A Central California woman claims she was fired after uninstalling an app that her employer required her to run constantly on her company issued iPhone—an app that tracked her every move 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Plaintiff Myrna Arias, a former Bakersfield sales executive for money transfer service Intermex, claims in a state court lawsuit that her boss, John Stubits, fired her shortly after she uninstalled the job-management Xora app that she and her colleagues were required to use. According to her suit (PDF) in Kern County Superior Court:
I'd be interested to find out the details of this. If she was required to take her phone home with her or had to have it available even when she was "off the clock", then this is not cool at all, a total intrusion of the employees privacy. However if she had the option of leaving the phone behind when she left work or simply shutting it off, then I can understand the employer being upset about her removing the software.
EDIT-Yeah, this is not cool at all, the manager is a dumba## if he was bragging about being able to monitor employees outside of work as well. Requiring an employee to be able to access their work phone 24-7 but then requiring them to use software that tracks their movements even away from work isn't right, I just don't know legally how much of a case this woman has.
Quote:
Stubits admitted that employees would be monitored while off duty and bragged that he knew how fast she was driving at specific moments ever since she installed the app on her phone. 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 Stubits that this was an invasion of her privacy.
It will be interesting to see how this comes out. On the face of it, it looks to be a huge invasion of privacy. Employers don't need to know what you're doing off the clock.
I might be able to see having the GPS tracking on while on the clock, being it sounds like she had to travel from place to place for the job. That could be used to make sure that you're not spending 15 minutes with the customer and 45 minutes at the coffeeshop and expecting to get paid for it. Tracking on personal time however? I would have done the same thing, only I wouldn't have been as nice about it, and the phone would more than likely be in pieces after I found my personal time movements were being tracked. Don't care who you are, and how much you pay me, my time is my time and you can take your job and shove it if you think you are going to track me during my time.
It sounds quite intrusive to me: "Stubits admitted that employees would be monitored while off duty and bragged that he knew how fast she was driving at specific moments ever since she installed the app on her phone"
She likened it to wearing a house arrest bracelet, and I think she's right.
While I'm at work my vehicle can be tracked and I am supplied a company work phone. When I get home the truck and the phone sit in a parking spot and on the kitchen table . My job time ends when I get out of that vehicle. If I have to go out for a call again thry can track all they want. I don't much care.
My personal time and where I am going however is not up for discussion or tracking. I don't take the company phone with me even though I was told I can use it anytime. I have a phone and my own vehicle.
I won't disable or disconnect vandalize any property that's not mine. She shouldnt of done it either. If her company required a 24 hr on call she should of been for that
If she was hired with full knowledge that this 24 hour "tracking" was required and took the job anyway I don't think she has a leg to stand on.
However, if this was something that the employer dumped on her well after her employment started, I believe she's got every right to have left it behind after hours, but NOT to vandalize it.
It will be interesting to see how this comes out. On the face of it, it looks to be a huge invasion of privacy. Employers don't need to know what you're doing off the clock.
They do for me... but don't GPS us in our private lives ... yet
We do get gps'd on duty and I'm happy for it
But... then again someone wasn't trying to hurt or kill her and GPS wasn't used to get help to her
Big brother is being embedded into all of our lives.. that is a cause I could get behind stopping...that is when I'm not being watched by a camera somewhere
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