This is a quick update to our previous post detailing the New York court decision to allow limited, but warrantless GPS tracking of government employees. In a dissenting opinion, the controversial decision has been called a “dangerous precedent”. The decision was made as a result of Cunningham vs. the New York Department of Labor, where a government employee was tracked on his off time for the purpose of investigation whether or not he was honestly reporting his time spent on the job. Government actions (employee GPS tracking) in this case were deemed unreasonable by the court.
Yesterday, the New York Daily News reported that New York’s top court has decided in favor of limited GPS tracking government employees. But the decision to allow some use of tracking devices, related to a 2008 misconduct case against a Labor Department official, didn’t come without clarification of what the court considers to be overstepping employee privacy. Drawing a fine line between acceptable and excessive, the court ruled that while the government can utilize vehicle tracking during hours they claim to be working, after hours and vacation time are off limits. With the court citing that employees have a “reasonable expectation” of privacy, and that government employers should exhaust other options before resorting to GPS tracking, the decision is considered significant in it’s challenge to the government’s previous stance that around-the-clock GPS tracking was acceptable. Tell us what you think about this decision!
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