Can You Ban Personal Cell Phones in the Workplace?

The quick answer is yes. Employees do not have the legal right to carry cell phones at work. You can also require them to leave them in their cars or lockers if they have them. This is not limited to cell phones. You can also ban cameras and other electronic devices like music players.

While this might seem draconian to some employees, here are some rationales you can use:

Safety. Whether someone is walking and texting, running manufacturing machinery, or driving, safety is compromised when people are distracted.
Lack of focus. This can lead to mistakes by people at all levels. It is also said each time you are distracted it takes you 20 minutes to get your head back into what you were doing. This can cost your company many hours of wasted time.
Confidentiality. You certainly don’t want employees photographing sensitive company materials or recording conversations. Proprietary processes, records, or conversations are not something you want to leave your building.

Make sure that if you do ban electronic equipment, your employees understand your reasoning. If you implement this policy you need to have a progressive discipline policy in place. Again, you should discuss this with employees as well, so they know the potential consequences of breaking the rules.

If you don’t want to ban cell phones outright, consider establishing a cell phone policy that limits employees’ use of phones in order to maximize productivity. You might ban phone usage at certain times, or in specific areas, for example, and you can outline expected phone etiquette (keeping phones on silent, etc.).

If you do put a cell phone policy in place, either banning or restricting their use in the workplace, ensure your wording conforms to National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) standards.

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