Employers Possibly Affected by Judge's Opinion On Tracking Individuals' Movements

A U.S. District Judge recently issued an opinion with potentially broad implications for law enforcement, and possibly employers, regarding the use of technology to track the movements of individuals.

In his opinion, Eastern District of New York Judge Nicholas Garaufis rejected an FBI attempt to track an individual’s movements based on cell phone tower records, without first obtaining a warrant based on probable cause. At issue is whether an individual may have an expectation of privacy not only to the content of communications, but to their transaction data (including cell tower locations) as well.

This one of a series of court actions that may eventually lead to a new set of ground rules regarding communications privacy. Long term implications for the workplace may be affected to some extent by court decisions regarding law enforcement. For example, can employer track an employee who has a work based cell phone? We’ll keep a watch on this and keep you informed as the issue evolves.