Legal and ethical implications of employee location monitoring

Location technologies allow employers to monitor the location of employees. The technologies range from global positioning systems able to determine outdoor locations worldwide to sensor networks able to determine locations within buildings. Few international laws and no American laws directly address location monitoring. International privacy laws, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the USA Patriot Act and other laws involving Internet and e-mail monitoring might provide the pattern for future location monitoring legislation. Ethical considerations such as privacy, accuracy, inconsistency, security, and reputation also may affect future legislation. In writing corporate policies governing location monitoring, the employer's business interests may outweigh an employee's privacy interest. However, privacy invasion may be considered when the employer's monitoring has been physically invasive and has no legitimate business purpose. Future research should investigate management and employee attitudes toward location monitoring and the pattern of location monitoring policies.