Bureaucratic Bumbling in NYC

In a column at FoxNews.com Lis Wiehl discusses a case in which New York City School Chancellor Joel Klein fired John Halpin, a construction supervisor who has worked for the Department of Education for 21 years, for repeatedly leaving work early. Halpin was fired because his employer-supplied, GPS-equipped cell phone ratted him out. The phone documented that he left work early 83 times in about five months.

Questions that taxpayers in New York City should be asking: Why does Joel Klein need GPS devices to ensure that his employees are getting their jobs done? Where was Halpin's supervisor while the time cheating was going on? What about Halpin's performance on the job? Are the Department's managers measuring productivity or just the amount of time spent on the job?

If an employee has to be tracked using an implanted device to keep him or her on the job, I would say that employee is most likely not really needed. One notable exception might be when the job primarily involves traveling from point A to point B, such as driving a long-haul truck. Even then it should be relatively easy to determine if cargo is being delivered on-time and to the right place.

I don't buy the argument that employers are entitled to invade the privacy of their employees in any way they see fit. You won't be able to convince me that the NYC Schools are only monitoring their employees during working hours. I'll bet that some functionary has gleefully noted that Jack's phone and Jill's phone seem to be in the same place for a couple of hours after work two or three times per month.

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