Can A GPS Result In TMI?

The answer is “yes” – tracking employees by using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) can give an employer too much information (TMI). Surreptitious Surveillance

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court held (in the case of U.S. v. Jones) that the government’s attachment of a GPS device to the vehicle of an individual suspected of drug trafficking was a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment (which provides protection against unreasonable searches) and thus required a warrant.

Following the Jones decision, a New York court found last year that a public employer (ironically, the New York Department of Labor) that attached a GPS to the car of an employee had engaged in a search; however, the New York court was of the opinion that the Supreme Court had left open the question of when, if ever, a GPS search was permissible without a warrant. (Cunningham v. NY Dept. of Labor). In the Cunningham case, the New York Labor Department attached a GPS to the employee’s car,