https://www.cbsnews.com/news/remote...oyer-after-tracking-software-shows-time-theft
A Canadian accountant has been ordered to repay her employer for "time theft" after the company's tracking software determined that she was performing personal tasks while she claimed to be working. The court ruling marks one of the first instances in which such technology has been used to order a worker to repay an employer for slacking off on the job.
Karlee Besse, an employee of Vancouver Island accounting firm Reach CPA, initially claimed she was wrongfully dismissed and that her employer owed her $5,000 in unpaid wages and severance pay. Besse's employer said it terminated her because she engaged in time theft and filed a countersuit seeking just over $2,600 in wages it paid her while she allegedly wasn't working as well as part of an advance she received before her employment began.
The court decision comes as more companies install tracking software on workers' computers to detect keystrokes and clicks to ensure they focus on work-related tasks while doing their jobs remotely. Some critics say this kind of surveillance amounts to spying and infringes on employees' basic rights.
A Canadian accountant has been ordered to repay her employer for "time theft" after the company's tracking software determined that she was performing personal tasks while she claimed to be working. The court ruling marks one of the first instances in which such technology has been used to order a worker to repay an employer for slacking off on the job.
Karlee Besse, an employee of Vancouver Island accounting firm Reach CPA, initially claimed she was wrongfully dismissed and that her employer owed her $5,000 in unpaid wages and severance pay. Besse's employer said it terminated her because she engaged in time theft and filed a countersuit seeking just over $2,600 in wages it paid her while she allegedly wasn't working as well as part of an advance she received before her employment began.
The court decision comes as more companies install tracking software on workers' computers to detect keystrokes and clicks to ensure they focus on work-related tasks while doing their jobs remotely. Some critics say this kind of surveillance amounts to spying and infringes on employees' basic rights.
