Employers Authorized To Collect GPS Data On Company Vehicles

Tired of relying on employee self-reports and chance observations by supervisors, in 2010 Schindler Elevator Corporation ("Schindler") installed GPS and engine monitoring technologies in its company vehicles. Schindler's employees do not report to an office as part of their daily routine – they travel from their home, in company vehicles, to various work sites and return directly home from the work site at night.

This prompted a complaint by the employees to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia. The employees were seeking an order prohibiting Schindler from using the GPS and engine monitoring devices, allegating that their use contravened the Personal Information Protection Act ("PIPA"). The main issue in the dispute related to whether the information collected by the monitoring devices was "personal information" under section 1 of PIPA.