Denver may
track workers by satellite
06/07/00- Updated 07:53 PM ET
Allegations of loafing leads city
to mull use of GPS
DENVER (AP) - 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?''
