Modern employees often value a sustainable work-life balance. They also tend to feel strongly about their privacy rights. Employers sometimes make demands of their workers that can feel invasive or potentially illegal. Professionals frustrated by the requests of their employers can sometimes decline company demands or defend themselves against punitive actions if they are familiar with employment statutes.
Many workers do not want to give their employers access to their personal mobile devices by installing tracking apps or similar software. Can employers force workers to install specific apps on their personal mobile devices as a requirement of their employment?
Mandating the installation of an app is lawful
While it may feel quite invasive for an employer to require that workers install a company app or a workplace app on their own phones, nothing in state statutes or prior court precedent technically prevents an employer from doing so.
However, forcing an employee to treat their personal technological devices as a work tool makes the employer responsible for covering a portion of the worker’s mobile phone plan. The law in California requires that employers reimburse workers for any mandatory job-related costs.
Some companies bypass this obligation enshrined in California state statutes by providing workers with separate phones that they must carry for employment purposes. Provided that they appropriately reimburse workers for a reasonable share of their mobile service costs, employers can mandate the installation of specific apps and penalize workers, possibly by terminating them, for non-compliance.
Reviewing an employer’s questionable practices with a skilled legal team can help private sector workers determine if a violation of their rights has occurred. Policies that feel invasive may require the review of an attorney so that employees can effectively assert themselves in the workplace, and in court (when necessary).