If you have company vehicles that employees use on a regular basis in Minnesota, you probably often worry about how well they are driving and how they behave when behind the wheel. You have every right to be concerned since you will ultimately end up at least somewhat liable for what they do when driving your company vehicles. Plus, your insurance will reflect your employees’ habits and mistakes. Thanks to technology, you can monitor your employees’ habits, but is this legal?
Midwest Medical Edition explains GPS tracking is very popular among employers. It can provide a wealth of information and make sure that you know where your employees are and what they are doing when in a company vehicle. You also have the option of smartphone apps that can help you also monitor employee behavior.
However, Minnesota is one state that has adopted its own regulations about employee monitoring. It basically comes down to you not being able to do it unless the employee is aware. So, you have to make monitoring a part of policy. You cannot simply install monitoring devices secretly. There may also be limits on what information you can gather and how you can use monitoring practices. However, you can still do it in most cases, and even if employees know, it can still provide you with a peace of mind.
The biggest issue is invasion of privacy, which many employees claim when such tracking is done. These cases are fairly new, so there is not much information as to how the courts feel, but it is worth keeping in mind that employees may have an issue with tracking. This information is for education and is not legal advice.
