Clark County tracks county vehicles with GPS; good idea?

Clark County is using GPS devices to track many of its vehicles.

Managers can check their computers and find the locations of building inspectors, animal control officers and maintenance workers.

KATU reports it's raising "Big Brother" concerns, but Risk Manager Mark Wilsdon says they're public employees, and if they aren't doing anything wrong there's nothing to worry about.

He says since GPS units were installed the number of completed jobs went up and so have fuel savings.

The technology also will go on snow plows and street sweepers to help show which streets have been cleared and cleaned.

King and Pierce counties have not taken up the practice.

Taking it too far?

Tracking employees on the job to improve productivity might be effective, but can the government take it too far?

That’s the question a mid-level appeals court will need to answer after a lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union against the state Labor Department in the case of firing Michael Cunningham.

Cunningham was fired for filing improper time sheets according to Department of Labor officials after a GPS tracking device was placed on his car without a court warrant.

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