To ensure the safety of employees and prevent accidents in the workplace, The Supply Room in Oxford, Alabama recently implemented a unique solution. The company, which specializes in manufacturing military uniforms and insignia, installed cellphone jammers to prevent employees from using their phones during work hours. General Manager Tim Barton believes that this solution is perfect because it addresses a significant safety concern.
The company’s manufacturing process requires the use of heavy machinery, such as a 10-ton press. Employees who are distracted by their phones could cause serious accidents, potentially putting themselves and their colleagues at risk. A single moment of distraction could lead to catastrophic consequences, such as putting an embroidery needle through a finger. As such, The Supply Room made the decision to prioritize employee safety by preventing cell phone use in the workplace.
The cellphone jammers work by disrupting phone signals within a specific area, effectively rendering them useless. The solution is not designed to punish employees or stifle communication completely, but rather to minimize the potential for distractions during work hours. The Supply Room’s focus is on improving employee safety, and the cellphone jammers are just one of the many measures that they have implemented to create a safer working environment.
Overall, The Supply Room’s decision to install cellphone jammers demonstrates their commitment to employee safety. They understand the potential dangers associated with distracted employees in a manufacturing environment and have taken proactive steps to address this issue. By eliminating the distraction of cellphones, employees can focus on their work and minimize the possibility of accidents occurring.
FCC Takes Action: Regulatory Intervention
But under the Communications Act of 1934, using a cellphone jammer is illegal, and in April 2013 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued fines against The Supply Room and against Taylor Oilfield Manufacturing Inc., in Broussard, La., for using jammers.
Fines included $10,000 for operating without FCC authorization, $5,000 for using unauthorized or illegal equipment, and $7,000 for interference with authorized communications, plus a $16,000-per-day fine for violations of the prohibition on signal jamming. In both cases, the companies cooperated with the FCC and the amounts of the fines were reduced.
In charging The Supply Room, the FCC stated: “Jammers are not only designed to impede authorized communications and thereby interfere with the rights of legitimate spectrum users and the general public, but also are inherently unsafe. For example, jammers can be used to disrupt critical public safety communications, placing first responders like law enforcement and fire fighting personnel—as well as the public they are charged with protecting—at great risk. Similarly, jammers can endanger life and property by preventing individuals from making 911 or other emergency calls. In order to protect the public and preserve unfettered access to emergency and other communications services, the act generally prohibits the importation, use, marketing, manufacture, and sale of jammers.”
In an interview, Barton said, “We did not know they were illegal. … We thought we had an easy solution.”
Now, more than a year later, “we put a new policy [in place] immediately restricting the use of phones in the workplace,” he said. “It’s in the employee handbook. There are posters when you enter the building.”
Employees may keep their phones in their lockers, “they just can’t have them past that door after the time clock. If they’re taking a smoking break they can use them. But we’re not going to allow them in the building. We’re not going to do it, we’re not going to give in,” Barton said.
If an employee is caught using a cellphone, the person is sent home without pay.
“If it continues, we will terminate them. We have zero tolerance,” he said. It may sound harsh, he noted, but added that most workplaces do not have the kinds of potential hazards that exist at The Supply Room.
“People feel they have a right to their cellphone, but they don’t in the workplace, according to us. We don’t want somebody losing a body part. We monitor as closely as we can,” he said.
Policy on Cellphones
According to Holger Mueller, managing cellphone usage should be up to enterprises and employees.
In cases where it may be rude or detrimental to work, employers may prohibit phone use. However, Mueller believes that ultimately, it is up to managers to coach and oversee appropriate usage. On the other hand, Scott R. Flick, a communications lawyer, suggests that some companies opt for cellphone jammers to prevent time-wasting.
The cost of jammers has decreased, and they can be easily bought online. While Flick notes that this is a common problem, he also points out the issue of employees using illegal devices without the company’s knowledge to avoid being tracked.
For example, a New Jersey man was fined $32,000 by the FCC for using a GPS-jamming device near the Newark airport. The FCC began investigating when the positioning system guiding planes to the runways began turning off without warning.