This topic might eventually get to The Pit, but right now, I’d like a genuine answer to this question. Here’s the sitch:
I am a field technician for a large, international termite and pest control company. My branch had a meeting yesterday (3/12) and it was mentioned that there was a new kind of apparatus which may be implemented company-wide that not only telecommunicates our application information and mileage and whatnot, but which also contains a GPS which will tell anyone who can access them exactly where the technicians are, how long they spend at a place, how many times their trucks are started and stopped, etc.
I can understand wanting to make the techs as accountable as possible, and goldbricking is unacceptable in any line of work. But isn’t this an invasion of privacy? I’m not paid an hourly wage, BTW, I’m paid a percentage of what my services are worth; the more services I do, the more I earn. So really, it shouldn’t make a difference how long it takes me to get my work done.
Is this legal?
I’m also pissed that they would assume we’d try to get over on them unless they kept us on a short leash, but that’s for The Pit.
Trucking companies have been using similar systems for years, even to the extent of being able to remotely shut down a vehicle, should the need arise. No legal troubles, as far as I know.
IANAL, but IMHO this is not any kind of invasion of privacy, any more than companies checking up on the email their employees send at work. It’s the company’s vehicle, you’re on company time. Actually, since you’re such a good worker, it will actually show how efficient you are. Plus if you’re ever falsely accused of something there will be a record of exactly where you were at the time.
While that is legal as it is their property, I would question the wisdom of working for a company that sees the best way to control employees is through negative feedback, such as this. If your employer can’t trust you to do your job, maybe it is time to find one who will.
One thing to check into is this a random thing. In otherwords are ALL employees subject to similar tests. Are all employee held accountable? And if not is there a good reason for it.
For instance, when I was in H/R for a hotel. The drivers were subject to random drug tests, but no one else was. Is this fair. Yes because driving a vehichle intoxicated may hurt the hotel’s guests.
I would check local city laws. Sometimes the state will say it’s OK but the city will nix it. For instance Chicago has an ordinance protecting gay people in employment. Most other cities in IL do not.
GPS systems are NOT 100%, right now, isn’t there reliablity being called into question in the Scott Peterson case. I bet you could find a way to jam it.
Thanks for the input. I suppose it is legal, even if it stinks.
I agree with sethdallob, though. This company has always tended to use punitive measures to get their desired results, rather than rewards for doing well. That only makes me want to flout the rules and still get my work completed to show them that their methods don’t matter to me.
I don’t believe I abuse any privileges with the company vehicle or my time. I may opt to take my lunch at home rather than buying it on the road, and I may linger a little longer, but again, if my work is completed at month’s end, no one is the poorer for my taking 45 minutes instead of 30 for lunch, or for stopping to buy a few items at the grocery store if it’s on my way home.
I just resent the assumption that because a few people are lazy bastards, we all are untrustworthy.
This being the forum for facts, what say we stick to the factual question of what the law says? Complaints about unfairness, debates about morality or wisdom, etc., belong in other forums.
Also we will not be discussing ways to jam the signal or otherwise circumvent the system.
Illegal? No. The limits on what a company can require of its employees are not very extensive.
Pointless and jerkesque? Certainly. If you’re paid a percentage, then it’s pretty obvious that the company doesn’t need to pull an Orwell to scare you into working more accounts. Besides which, most every company keeps track of how many accounts get serviced anyways, so it’s not like they need to insert a tracker chip in your skull to check up on it. It’s a waste of money so that someone in middle management can get off on a power trip by knowing the little ants are all looking over their shoulder for him. Which of course will get boring after a week or two, so he’ll blow more money on an even more ellaborate system to do something a double digit IQ manager could do by pulling up the accounting records.
The best way to combat garbage like this is to find out who came up with it, then fire off an email one tier up (or to their worst enemy if you happen to know who that is) the ladder to let them know that truckloads of money is being wasted because someone was too stupid to read the timecards.