Some companies are hiring private investigators to make sure employees are really working from home

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Friday, May 15, 2020
Companies hire private investigators to track work from home employees
WORKING FROM HOME: Some companies have hired private investigators to make sure employees aren't taking a free paid vacation.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Millions of Americans are working from home during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Now, some companies are taking extreme measures to make sure their employees are actually working.

A private investigator in Arizona tells KNXV-TV companies are hiring him to check up on workers who are skipping out on work. "If I get the call, usually they're pretty sure it's happening," said Dorian Bond. "They just need the documentation evidence so, when they decide to go with the termination, they have the proof."

Over the past several weeks, Bond says he's documented employees doing a number of non-work activities including golfing, boating and fishing. Another discovery took him by surprise. "A top executive was having a relationship with a subordinate and they were 'Zooming' from the same house but in different rooms."

Bond said it bothers him to find people taking advantage of their employer, when many people have been laid off due to the pandemic.