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Woman Allegedly Fired for Deleting App That Let Her Boss Track Her Movements 24/7

Zfetch

By Zfetch
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Zfetch Canucks Franchise Player

Zfetch

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A California woman is suing her former employer after she claims she was fired for uninstalling a smartphone app that let her boss track her movements 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

According to Ars Technica, which obtained a copy of the complaint, Myrna Arias worked for the Intermex wire transfer service when she says her boss, John Stubits, fired her for deleting the Xora (now ClickSoftware) job management app from her smartphone.

In the suit Arias claims that the app allowed Intermex and Stubits to track her movement whether she was working or not.

Arias said that when she and her fellow employees asked Stubits if he could track them when they weren’t working, Stubits, “admitted that employees would be monitored while off duty and bragged that he knew how fast she was driving at specific moments ever since she had installed the app on her phone.”

According to the suit, Arias didn’t have a problem with the app tracking her while she was working, but didn’t want it doing so when she was off. Doing so, Arias said, amounted to an invasion of privacy.

Xora, the app that Arias complained about, tracks and manages mobile employees while they’re in the field.

Arias said she is seeking payment for lost wages and punitive damages.

We reached out to Intermex, and will update this article when we receive a response.

The proliferation of smartphones and our always-connected culture have given rise to a number of privacy issues and complaints. Social media users continuously argue that Facebook and Twitter regularly invade users’ privacy, while similar allegations have been made against major smartphone makers and websites.

The difference here is that Arias was required to install an app on her handset by her employer, something more and more companies require their workers to do in order to protect corporate data stored on their smartphones.

Do you think Arias should have been fired for not using the app, as her suit alleges? Should employers be able to track workers when they’re not on the job? Sound off in the comments.

via: Ars Technica & https://www.yahoo.com/tech/a-california-woman-claims-she-was-fired-for-118711413499.html

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Orka Canucks Prospect

Orka

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If a company I work for wants something special like that from me, then they had better provide a work phone.

I second this. Personal life is personal, I don't see why the employer needs to know the employees whereabouts outside of work hours. As an employer, I don't care what you do in your spare time as long as the work you're doing when you're supposed to be working is adequate.

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etsen3 Canucks Second-Line

etsen3

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Absolutely disgusting. Although it sounds like they did her a favour by letting her go. If my boss ever came up with an idea like this I'd be out the door as soon as possible. Imagine the look on your bosses' face when he used the app to find out you've been attending interviews at competing companies. Good on her for standing up for herself when her other employees wouldn't.

I'll allow my company to track me 24/7 when they pay me for those hours too.

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Lockout Casualty Canucks Regular

Lockout Casualty

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If it was a company phone, there is no problem. Obviously more to this story.

Tracking an employee 24/7 not a problem if it's a company phone? :blink:

An employer has no claim to an employee's time outside the hours the employee works.

Regarding the OP, I have one thing to say: Who cares? People get fired for all sorts of illegitimate reasons every day. Then people sue, win ,or lose, and move on. This is no different.

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KFBR392 Canucks Regular

KFBR392

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Tracking an employee 24/7 not a problem if it's a company phone? :blink:

An employer has no claim to an employee's time outside the hours the employee works.

Regarding the OP, I have one thing to say: Who cares? People get fired for all sorts of illegitimate reasons every day. Then people sue, win ,or lose, and move on. This is no different.

If it was a company phone, I'd assume they're within their rights to track said phone 24/7. The phone shouldn't be used for personal use and probably wouldn't be going around with you after work anyway.

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Dazzle Canucks Franchise Player

Dazzle

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Well, your wireless carrier can track your location via cell tower pinging/triangulation...

It's for your safety.

What happens if your husband wants to look for you? Maybe you're dead somewhere.......

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Lockout Casualty Canucks Regular

Lockout Casualty

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If it was a company phone, I'd assume they're within their rights to track said phone 24/7. The phone shouldn't be used for personal use and probably wouldn't be going around with you after work anyway.

Then she should have been made to leave the phone at the office at the end of every day. Or the app be shut off outside of work hours. The article is skimpy on the details, but if, for example, she has a job where travel is involved, she could be tracked after her official work is finished.

What I'm saying is that, if the employee is made to carry a phone for work, the phone should not be tracked outside of work for any reason. If it's given into her custody as an employee, she should be trusted with it outside work hours. If not, she should leave it every day at the office.

I guess she could shut it off outside of work hours, but I think the onus is on the employer to avoid invasion of privacy of the employee. The employee/employer relationship is already too lopsided.

It's for your safety.

What happens if your husband wants to look for you? Maybe you're dead somewhere.......

I think it's more due to the way wireless technology inherently works...

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Western Red Canucks Third-Line

Western Red

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Tracking an employee 24/7 not a problem if it's a company phone? :blink:

An employer has no claim to an employee's time outside the hours the employee works.

Regarding the OP, I have one thing to say: Who cares? People get fired for all sorts of illegitimate reasons every day. Then people sue, win ,or lose, and move on. This is no different.

Exactly. If you have a company phone, they want to know where you are. Leave it be when you're off work. SIMPLE.

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HC20.0 Canucks Third-Line

HC20.0

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I hope she wins. I don't want my boss knowing what I do on my days off. It's called a personal life. I leave my work life at work and my personal life at home. Her boss is a creep. Her personal life is her business and hers alone.

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The Magician Canucks First-Line

The Magician

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I hope she wins. I don't want my boss knowing what I do on my days off. It's called a personal life. I leave my work life at work and my personal life at home. Her boss is a creep. Her personal life is her business and hers alone.

Oh she's going to win

What's she going after though?

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Offensive Threat Canucks Third-Line

Offensive Threat

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We have work cell phones. They are owned by our company. They have an app that can track them 24/7. We can use them for personal use outside of work if we want but it is understood the tracking is functional all the time. I take mine home in the evenings so I can be connected as I leave for work in the morning. I dont take it with me anywhere else and I dont use it outside of work.

If you are aware of what the tracking functionality is and the phone is company property there shouldnt be a problem. IF you want to use the employers phone so you dont have to pay for a personal phone anymore then deal with the negatives.

If they put the app on her personal phone that she owns then thats a whole different story.

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