Elgin v. St. Louis Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

4 Analyses of this case by attorneys

  1. Geofencing and Geotracking: Navigating Legal and Privacy Concerns for Employers

    Williams MullenD. Earl BaggettJuly 6, 2017

    For the most part, courts and arbitrators have found that an employer’s installation of a GPS system in an employer-owned vehicle does not violate an employee’s privacy right1. For instance, in Elgin v. St. Louis Coca-Cola Bottling Co., No. 4:05CV970-DJS (E.D. Mo. Nov. 14, 2005), an employer installed a GPS system in a vehicle that was assigned to an employee for the purposes of investigating cash shortages in vending machines accessible to the employee. Although the employee ultimately was cleared of wrongdoing, when the employee discovered that a GPS had been installed on the vehicle he filed an invasion of privacy claim under state law.

  2. The Legality of Tracking Employees By GPS

    Seyfarth Shaw LLPFebruary 16, 2016

    There cases in which courts have addressed the legal parameters of an employer’s use of GPS devices to track workers in order to investigate potential misconduct are few but nonetheless instructive.In Elgin v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. (E.D.Mo. 2005), the employer attached a GPS device to a company-owned vehicle used by the employee to service vending machines after a cash shortage was reported on a number of machines. Although the employee was cleared of any wrongdoing in the investigation, when he found out that a GPS device had been installed on the company vehicle he drove during the investigation, he filed a claim for intrusion upon seclusion under state law.

  3. The Legality of Tracking Employees By GPS

    Seyfarth Shaw LLPKarla GrossenbacherJanuary 27, 2016

    There cases in which courts have addressed the legal parameters of an employer’s use of GPS devices to track workers in order to investigate potential misconduct are few but nonetheless instructive. In Elgin v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. (E.D.Mo. 2005), the employer attached a GPS device to a company-owned vehicle used by the employee to service vending machines after a cash shortage was reported on a number of machines. Although the employee was cleared of any wrongdoing in the investigation, when he found out that a GPS device had been installed on the company vehicle he drove during the investigation, he filed a claim for intrusion upon seclusion under state law.

  4. Employee GPS Tracking – Is it Legal?

    Seyfarth Shaw LLPKarla GrossenbacherJanuary 26, 2016

    Privacy issues tend to arise, however, when employers use GPS data in connection with investigating alleged misconduct in the workplace.Cases in which courts have addressed the legal parameters of an employer’s use of GPS devices to track workers in order to investigate potential misconduct are few but nonetheless instructive.In Elgin v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. (E.D.Mo. 2005), the employer attached a GPS device to a company-owned vehicle used by the employee to service vending machines after a cash shortage was reported on a number of machines. Although the employee was cleared of any wrongdoing in the investigation, when he found out that a GPS device had been installed on the company vehicle he drove during the investigation, he filed a claim for intrusion upon seclusion under state law.