On November 2, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released an advisory letter stating that Shore Point Distribution Co. (Shore Point), an alcoholic beverage distributor in New Jersey, did not violate labor laws by failing to negotiate with its employees’ union before installing a GPS tracking device on its employee’s company truck. Beginning in March of this year, Shore Point believed that an employee was stealing time while on his work routes, and after using a GPS tracking device and a private investigator to follow him, fired the employee for his actions. The NLRB said in its letter that the collective bargaining agreement contains rules against stealing time and requirements that company drivers follow federal regulations related to accurate accounting of their time. Additionally, the NLRB said in its letter that because the union permits the company’s practice of hiring a private investigator for purpose of monitoring employees suspected of stealing time, and the GPS was only used in conjunction with the private investigator’s observations, the collective bargaining agreement was not violated. The GPS was only installed on the employee’s vehicle on the days when the private investigator was following the employee as a backup method in case the private investigator lost visual sight of the employee and his vehicle.

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