Demanding boss asks employee to share their live location while on emergency leave: 'It'll show them the exact location of my grandparent's house'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Dec 1, 2024 12:00 PM EST

Sharing one's location is a technological development that comes with a lot of moral and ethical quandaries. Folks 50 years ago didn't have to wonder if it was normal or not to ask for their boyfriend's location. They just had to believe him if he said he was going to pick up a case of beer from the next town over. But now that we have the ability to track each other's phones, and it has become a common custom to do so, it begs the question of where we draw the line. Having someone's location could become a dangerous thing… You might find something out that you wish you hadn't. 

So in the case of the workplace, it seems pretty cut and dry that your employer shouldn't have your location. That would be crossing some pretty well-established separation of work life and personal life. But this employer didn't quite understand that and pushed the boundaries anyway. Read on for the story and see what you think.

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    Cheezburger Image 10433591552
    via Luke Porter

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story

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    My boss demands me to share my live location
    via u/AdAdditional8414
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    Today (25 Nov) I'm taking emergency leave due to family emergencies, I need to drive my dad to his parent's house at 1 in the morning. After I arrived at my grandparent's house at 4:30am, I sent a picture and state that I'll not be able to attend work for 2 days.
    via u/AdAdditional8414
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    At first my boss just wants to know about what's happening, after I told them everything he starts demanding my live location, which is what I consider as a private information since it'll show them the exact location of my grandparent's house. What can I do? Is it legal for them to demand such information?
    via u/AdAdditional8414
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    Bucephalus307 • 12h ago Tell your boss to f off. Politely or impolitely is up to you.
    via u/Bucephalus307
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    NoBandicoot8047 • 10h ago No is a complete sentence
    via u/NoBandicoot8047
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    kv4268 12h ago • • Stop responding to him with anything not related to your return date. It is none of his business. It's legal for him to ask. It's also legal for you to refuse.
    via u/kv4268
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    Cultural-Afternoon72 7h ago • As a manager, it can definitely be frustrating when someone needs to take unexpected leave and you have to rush to fill in the gaps in coverage to keep things moving. That said, that's literally my job as a manager. No where in my job
    via u/Cultural-Afternoon72
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    description does it say I have the right or need to track my employees location outside of work, ask for excessive levels of detail, or anything off the sort. If my employees ask for time off, I assume that's them telling me they aren't going to be here whether I approve it or not. Therefore, I make it very clear that
    via u/Cultural-Afternoon72
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    if they want/need time off, it's automatically approved, regardless of reason. I will ask very vague follow up questions (are you sick, just need a day off, or taking care of someone else), just because our work supplies different time off benefits to cover each and I need to know which they'd like me to put in the payroll system, but aside from that, it isn't my business and I have no reason to know.
    via u/Cultural-Afternoon72
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    Ask yourself this... if you're off work on your own personal time (which is where you would be), does it impact your work differently if you spent 24 hours at your grandparents house, or 6 hours at your grandparents house and 18 hours elsewhere? Of course not. The only impact on
    via u/Cultural-Afternoon72
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    them is that you're not there. What your manager is asking and demanding is invasive and completely pointless. There's zero chance I'd comply, and I'd STRONGLY be considering looking for alternative employment, if it were me. Boundaries matter.
    via u/Cultural-Afternoon72
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    • bugabooandtwo 10h ago • There are a bunch of websites that are actively tracking a number of different bird species. Pick one ID tag and give him that. Let him think you're going to South America for the winter.
    via u/bugabooandtwo
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    Catto_Channel • 12h ago. You can take unpaid leave at anytime, "emergency leave" is something specific to your contract. While you are away you do not require any further communication with your management unless you need to change the length of your leave.
    via u/Catto_Channel
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    You do not need to share any information about your whereabouts.
    via u/Catto_Channel
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    kr4ckenm3fortune 11h ago • Text message him this: Sharing my location live data meant I'm clocked into work. Are you okay with paying me at the rate of 1.5x my wage? It'll shut him up, especially if you send it as a text message. If he tries to call, text him that you'll only respond via text.
    via u/kr4ckenm3fortune
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    TigerGrizzCubs78 • 8h ago • He can demand, you're under no obligation to comply as you are off the clock
    via u/TigerGrizzCubs78
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    tikking 8h ago • . "Sent a picture"? I am still trying to wrap my head around why would you do that. If he was unlikely to believe u without evidence, then he is also gonna doubt all evidence. And if ur willing to volunteer that, ur just telling him that u can be pushed to do even more.
    via u/tikking
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    comm... • • 7h ago Edited 4h ago • If this happens again, tell your boss that if he would like your live tracked updated location during your leave that the company will need to pay you triple your pay as that's considered being both on- call and holiday pay. Because you're traveling while doing that work, that further means the company becomes responsible for your travel expenses... gas, food, lodging, transportation in full.
    via u/commorancy0
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    Anything that requires you to do work for your boss in any way means that you're on the clock. If you're doing it outside of business hours and it requires you to work around the clock means that you're on-call. If you're traveling while doing that work, then you're traveling on business.
    via u/commorancy0
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    It doesn't matter what kind of work you're being asked to do. It matters that you're doing work at all for your employer while traveling. Doing any work at all requires that you be paid for that work. Doing it while traveling means the company becomes responsible for all travel expenses.
    via u/commorancy0
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    Make sure that you request this using email or similar. Should the boss agree to the terms, you need to get that agreement in writing. If you get back and he refuses to pay you, take it to payroll directly and show them the conversation, the amount of hours and your travel receipts. Explain his agreement and request them to pay you.
    via u/commorancy0

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