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Denver Contemplates Tracking Workers by Satellite to Stop Loafing
May 23, 2000 DENVER — It could be getting harder to hide from the boss. After allegations that some city employees are loafing on the job, Denver officials said Monday they want to spend $1.5 million to track city vehicles with the military's Global Positioning System satellites. Installing GPS devices on more than 2,000 Public Works Department vehicles is a long-range goal, said Andrew Hudson, spokesman for Mayor Wellington Webb. In the meantime, Denver plans a lower-tech approach: bumper stickers listing a hot line where citizens can report complaints, commendations and suggestions about the city's 14,000 employees, Hudson said. Employees in the field will also be required to call in when starting and finishing a break. The crackdown came after a KUSA-TV report showed some city employees playing cards and sleeping on the job. The television report also followed employees of the Denver Water Department, an independent agency with 1,100 workers. The department is also considering satellite tracking device in its vehicles, spokesman Chips Barry said. Some water department employees were shown in the television report sleeping in a truck and taking a 41-minute breakfast break when they should have been working. GPS, developed and run by the Department of Defense, is a network of 24 satellites whose signals can be used to calculate the precise position and speed of a ground receiver. One labor expert said it might be counterproductive for an employer to try to scrutinize its workers so closely. "There is no system that will prevent some individuals from engaging in abuse," said Ellen Kelman, a Denver labor lawyer. "But do we want to infringe on the rights of all to catch a few scofflaws?" ————— On the Net: Information about GPS: www.navcen.uscg.mil/gps
AP-ES-05-23-00 0849EDT |
