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Rights Regarding Tracking A Company Car (1 Viewer)

STEADYMOBBIN 22

Footballguy
Curious if anyone here knows our rights in Maryland/Virginia/Pennsylvania....

Work sent out a recent memo stating that they've been tracking us for the past 2 months and now will continue to do so going forward...

  • It's using the On-Star system onboard our vehicles
  • Company vehicle leased by them
  • Explicitly told it can also be used for personal use
  • We pay the taxes on the mileage (Last year I got hit for more than $700 out of my check)
  • It's also with the understanding that we will sometimes attend events outside of whats considered normal business hours and once in awhile we work on the weekends. 


One of the great benefits and reasons I was was assigned this job is the flexibility we have in being able to work our own hours. I am one of the more productive members of our team and I have nothing to hide but its obviously icky and I dont want to help set a precedent.

Just curious of what my rights are before I push back on this. Im considering leaving my car and phone at the office at the end of whats considered normal working hours and picking them up at the open of business the following day, making myself unavailable off hours. 

Thanks in advance. 

******
Joe edit - I fixed the title to reflect the thread. Please don't change it. You're welcome to stop contributing to it, but once a thread is in the forum and has comments, it's no longer only your thread.

 
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Oh, and how intrusive is this system? I know they can see every time the car brakes hard, exceeds the speed limit and pretty much everything else......

Can they also hear my phone call conversations? 

 
Did they explain why they were doing it?


https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/01/employer-gps-tracking/512294/

This article is a few years old now but looks like a good start. High level

It's complicated

It might not be illegal

The laws aren't (or at least weren't) super clear on this at the time the article was written


The fact that the company owns the car is where the primary loophole may be. Guess it depends on the state.

Could be deemed immoral, but perhaps not illegal.


It's legal because they lease the car. They say they are doing it under the guise of essentially the safety of us and the vehicle   :rolleyes:   and to "Validate our work efforts". I get that they can track it for work. It's the personal stuff that creepy.

One of the benefits of this job is the freedom. I work late and sometimes I work early. Now if I wanna stop by say a Bass Pro Shop or a random store they could use that against me or one of my co-workers. Thats fine and all but I wont be working outside of normal business hours anymore if this is the case. 

Just gross man. 

 
I don’t know the laws in each state, but it’s your company’s lease so they are free to monitor their fleet imo. 

 
I would think that if they own the vehicle, they can pretty much track whatever they want.  Treat it like a work vehicle and not a personal vehicle.   :shrug:
I get that and will but its kinda annoying that they list the benefit of the car and cel phone as you can use it for personal use. They literally say in the hiring agreement that you can use this for personal use. 

Again, one of the most attractive benefits of this position is non regulated work hours and freedom as long as you get your #### done. I get my #### done and more so Im not worried about that aspect, its just creepy and shows a lack of trust. Im sure there are others not actually working so thats why theyre doing it.

 
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I don't see the problem.  I have a laptop issued by my employer.  I know it's monitored and I don't watch porn on it.  I don't care if my employer knows that I visit a fantasy football message board.  Why is your employer's car different?

 
I don't see the problem.  I have a laptop issued by my employer.  I know it's monitored and I don't watch porn on it.  I don't care if my employer knows that I visit a fantasy football message board.  Why is your employer's car different?
Well, considering they were doing so without the person's knowledge is a bit of a gray area.

Laptop is a bit different as you know it's your employer's, so you can easily buy another device for your more nefarious activities.  And whilst the employee can assume that the vehicle would be tracked, I don't think many can afford the luxury of two vehicles for one person, so it's quite a bit more intrusive into their private life.

I have a company phone and am sure my employer can track my calls, texts, etc...  I don't think I'd want my employer to be able to track where I go if I had a company paid vehicle however.

 
Well, considering they were doing so without the person's knowledge is a bit of a gray area.

Laptop is a bit different as you know it's your employer's, so you can easily buy another device for your more nefarious activities.  And whilst the employee can assume that the vehicle would be tracked, I don't think many can afford the luxury of two vehicles for one person, so it's quite a bit more intrusive into their private life.

I have a company phone and am sure my employer can track my calls, texts, etc...  I don't think I'd want my employer to be able to track where I go if I had a company paid vehicle however.
Don't work for ups imo 😉

 
I get that and will but its kinda annoying that they list the benefit of the car and cel phone as you can use it for personal use. They literally say in the hiring agreement that you can use this for personal use. 

Again, one of the most attractive benefits of this position is non regulated work hours and freedom as long as you get your #### done. I get my #### done and more so Im not worried about that aspect, its just creepy and shows a lack of trust. Im sure there are others not actually working so thats why theyre doing it.
I’m confused did they say you can no longer use it for personal use?  Or you just don’t like them tracking you

i guess I don’t have any expectation of privacy when using a company asset, I just enjoy the free perk :shrug:

 
I would assume that the company has researched their ability to do this, especially during work hours. My only question would be their tracking outside of normal work. 
 

I work from home, my company pays for my internet. I will obviously use sites like this, but I would in no way download something illegally like I used to back in the days of limewire and such. 

 
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FWIW, I believe the company is either required to, or else receives significant insurance rebates by tracking company vehicles.  We track company vehicles, however it is mentioned upfront.  To me, the issue is the fact they decided to start doing so without letting the employees know beforehand.

 
I have a company phone and am sure my employer can track my calls, texts, etc...  I don't think I'd want my employer to be able to track where I go if I had a company paid vehicle however.
They can track everywhere your phone goes.

Just tracking where a car goes doesn't bother me.  It is what they use it for.  If the location is used (EG) when someone says the car was used for a crime, then no problem.

If some creep is tracking where a woman he is stalking is going, then that is a problem.

 
I’m confused did they say you can no longer use it for personal use?  Or you just don’t like them tracking you

i guess I don’t have any expectation of privacy when using a company asset, I just enjoy the free perk :shrug:
They can have their car if they’re gonna track me. I have no worries. I work hard, I work above and beyond and I’m related to the president of the company so they can all pound sand. 
 

I guess the way it makes me feel is like being with a insecure, jealous girlfriend. There is no trust. 
 

I have a great attitude about work and again, nothing to hide and I produce at a high level. 
 

It’s weak sauce bro. Maybe you guys are cool with being tracked but it feels icky to me. 

 
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Only potential issue I see is that they didn't say something earlier. It should've been part of something you signed when you received a company car. My work laptop is monitored. My work phone is tracked. If I had a work car, I'd assume they are well within their rights to track it.

I'd gladly be tracked in exchange for a free car.

 
They can have their car if they’re gonna track me. I have no worries. I work hard, I work above and beyond and I’m related to the president of the company so they can all pound sand. 
 

I guess the way it makes me feel is like being with a insecure, jealous girlfriend. There is no trust. 
 

I have a great attitude about work and again, nothing to hide and I produce at a high level. 
 

It’s weak sauce bro. Maybe you guys are cool with being tracked but it feels icky to me. 
Well look at you

 
I would not have taken the job. Im working on leaving now. 

Im shocked at how many people in this thread are cool with being tracked off hours/weekends. 
 
I wouldn't say I was cool with it. But, the company is allowing you to use a valuable asset. So, I would expect some strings to be attached to it.  I don't see the problem if you aren't doing anything wrong. I'm sure there are employees that aren't as conscientious as you are during working hours, so this allows the company to track them 

 
I would not have taken the job. Im working on leaving now. 

Im shocked at how many people in this thread are cool with being tracked off hours/weekends. 
 
We're not. I forgo an employer provided mobile phone for just this reason, I don't use my employer provided computers for anything but work (except browsing sites like this) for just this reason. They should be up front about how they'll be monitoring your utilization of an asset they provide you, but you have to assume there are conditions attached if you accept the asset. If you don't want to be tracked, don't use their stuff.

 
I would not have taken the job. Im working on leaving now. 

Im shocked at how many people in this thread are cool with being tracked off hours/weekends. 
I'm not cool with being tracked, but I also recognize that 1) the company owns the car, and 2) there's a pretty easy solution available if I don't want to be tracked.

The last time I had a company car, nobody had to tell me not to drive the car to a strip club.

 
I work for a company that tracks our vehicles.  A few things.

1.  It's completely legal and yes they don't need to inform you of it(federally anyway... your state may differ).  

2.  They are doing it to get a break on their insurance, not because they want to big brother you.

3.  There's likely going to be 1 or 2 guys in charge of monitoring it and they will never investigate it closely unless there is an accident or incident.(usually.  There's always some dbags that love to invade people's lives just to feel that little power trip)

If you hate the idea of someone possibly tracking you in personal time, then leave the vehicle at work and drive your personal rig in.  It's what I do and at first I thought it'd be annoying, but now I actually like it.  I haven't done any late night work since I started leaving my vehicle at the office.  It's a built in excuse IMO.

 
I would have no problem with this situation.  It's the companies equipment.  They have the right to track it and monitor it's use.  It's theirs.  I don't understand why it is "icky".  I highly doubt they are doing anything with it other than lower insurance rates as other's have mentioned.  They probably now let everyone know so that it was out in the open.  I am actually surprised it wasn't stated up front and I would have expected that they could/would be doing that anyway. 

Bottom line its the price you pay for using company assets.  It's not a personal affront to your life.  You have a choice.  Don't use company stuff or forget about it.  I am shocked you would quit over this.

 
They can have their car if they’re gonna track me. I have no worries. I work hard, I work above and beyond and I’m related to the president of the company so they can all pound sand. 
 

I guess the way it makes me feel is like being with a insecure, jealous girlfriend. There is no trust. 
 

I have a great attitude about work and again, nothing to hide and I produce at a high level. 
 

It’s weak sauce bro. Maybe you guys are cool with being tracked but it feels icky to me. 
please don't tell me they pay for your phone...

 
I would not have taken the job. Im working on leaving now. 

Im shocked at how many people in this thread are cool with being tracked off hours/weekends. 
 
I never said I was ok with it, but if I was that concerned I would use my own vehicle on weekends.... :shrug:

 
I would not have taken the job. Im working on leaving now. 

Im shocked at how many people in this thread are cool with being tracked off hours/weekends. 
 
Wait--you are working on leaving your job now in what could be the worst economy since the Great Depression because they are tracking your movements in a free vehicle they are providing you with?    I get how finding out that getting tracked could be frustrating--but it also comes across that your actions are more in line with a guilty conscience than they are being upset about a policy.  The relationship with the company president doesn't happen to be on the "in-law" side--does it? Jk. Lol 

 
Wait--you are working on leaving your job now in what could be the worst economy since the Great Depression because they are tracking your movements in a free vehicle they are providing you with?    I get how finding out that getting tracked could be frustrating--but it also comes across that your actions are more in line with a guilty conscience than they are being upset about a policy.  The relationship with the company president doesn't happen to be on the "in-law" side--does it? Jk. Lol 
Principal of it bud. Nothing to hide. 
 

I already have a job lined up. 

 
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im shocked how many people in this thread expect that when they get to use a company vehicle they can just do whatever they want with it and expect that no employer should ever know or care or look in to it or actually do due diligence about the use of company items and resources but hey thats just me talkin take that to the bank bromigos 

 
Principal of it bud. Nothing to hide. 
 

I already have a job lined up. 
Principle of what?  Principle of a company keeping track of their property?  Principle of a company knowing how their property is being used?  Do you have the same objection to them looking at your internet usage on a company computer?  It's the same thing.

 
I get that and will but its kinda annoying that they list the benefit of the car and cel phone as you can use it for personal use. They literally say in the hiring agreement that you can use this for personal use. 

Again, one of the most attractive benefits of this position is non regulated work hours and freedom as long as you get your #### done. I get my #### done and more so Im not worried about that aspect, its just creepy and shows a lack of trust. Im sure there are others not actually working so thats why theyre doing it.
To me, the issue is then whether they use this information to terminate your job or take some other action. For example, if your contract (or provable promise that you relief upon) says you can use the car for personal use, they may be in breach of contract if they fired you for taking the car to a strip club on your off time. Further, and hopefully obvious, if they're monitoring rising to the level of being an unreasonable intrusion into your privacy (e.g. hidden camera)  then there may be tortious conduct. 

But, as others have said above, I don't think your expectation that you weren't at all being monitored (that is, that the company had the ability to back-check your location through a GPS system) is reasonable. I also genuinely don't understand why you are so outraged. 

 
The other thing that is strange is that if they started tracking 2 months ago—thats right in line with when the stay at home/lockdown orders were implemented in most areas.  If they have a fleet of vehicles—they are probably in line to get some sort of insurance reimbursement because most auto insurance companies are giving money back due to reduced mileage during the stay at home orders.  Is it possible that they are only tracking unusual cases where peoples mileage didn’t decrease at a moment in time where it surely should?

 
They pay for one of them 
This implies that you have multiple phones. I also have a separate personal phone to my work phone. This seems like a reasonable choice. 

Why wouldn't you apply the same rationale to the car situation? I get that purchasing your own car isn't nearly the same relatively small financial cost as a separate phone, but I guess i'm now following why you don't view the two "perks" the same. 

 
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I’m outraged And all tracking and monitoring whether it’s work related or not this isnt exclusive to my job this is Alexis in your house,  this is when you get in your car your GPS telling you where you’re going before you’ve even figured it out

at all tracking and monitoring whether it’s work related or not this is an exclusive to my job this is Alex is in your house this is when you get in your car your GPS telling you where you’re going before you’ve even figured it out. 
 

I get it, you guys are more than happy to give up your liberties and freedoms because it’s convenient for you. I think youre absolute morons and I’m sure you think the same of me. It’s cool it’s a matter of what you believe in.
 

Excuse the grammar and the misspellings. Are used voice to text because I’m eating my lunch and I really don’t feel like reading the responses that are totally cool with the big brother invading your entire life.Don’t have much to say to you people and we fundamentally disagree at our core

 
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I’m driving and texting and I’m pretty much done with this topic. You guys of all made it clear you don’t care if people watch you all day long. Good luck with that.
I don't think that is what is being said at all.  I think the overwhelming opinion is that company equipment is subject to the company tracking it's usage.  If you don't like that then don't use company equipment for personal business or quit....and you decided to quit.  Good Luck.

 

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