Cell phone ban

Nice to see you again Tazz........been dull round here.....and for the rest? Cell records? really?

Ok fine, a quick call to the carrier stops detail billing ( no calls listed ), a prepaid has no bill ( as it were ) and the op is right. I see everyone from pedestrians to heavy haulers with a phone melted to the side of their heads.

You can always stop the paper bill n tell the carrier "your going green". Then hold....wait for the reaction......the look will be priceless. They won't know how to answer.

 

I could care less about a carrier making that a condition of employment. That is between you and them. As with any corporate policy you can choose to avoid it very simply.

No one can demand your cell records without a subpeona as far as law enforcement goes. And I hate to burst everyones slim little bubble but if they get the number of your throw away there is in fact a record of it's usage.

 

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Ok, I can agree with the ban on cell phone use while driving. I can’t count the times that I have been forced to make a defensive move because a vehicle starting drifting over the line while beside me. Not to mention the times that has happened on two lane roads with oncoming traffic. Yes, I said vehicles, not just commercial vehicles, ALL vehicles. The major problem I have with this is that it just targets commercial vehicles. I have witnessed people in personal vehicles not only with a phone glued to their ear or texting, but also reading iPads in heavy fast moving traffic. How many of you have witnessed someone merging into traffic with a phone to their ear and not even looking and causing a total disruption in the flow of traffic. This law needs to apply to any and all vehicles on public roadways, but we all know, only commercial vehicles are dangerous on our roadways.

 

Actually several jurisdictions are banning hand held use for all vehicles.The FMCSA has no authority over non-commercial vehicles so can not enact the laws you seek nor should the Federal Government.

Work with you state government to get a law for private vehicles passed.

 

If lots of the wal mart drivers had their numbers changed and told wal mart they disconnected their phones, wal mart would find out quick how they depend on cell phones. Devices tha tdetect the signals can be rendered inopreative easy enough.

 

Big IF Rev......doubtful though.

 

It would sure be nice to hear from a walmart driver on this subject. My employer gave us $50.00 towards the purchase of a bluetooth headset / earpiece. We just had to provide a copy of the receipt. No qualcomm's - all communication with dispatch is done via cellphone. The roads would be a lot safer if the hands free law pertained to 4 wheelers and all the amazing things they can do while driving too. Oh yeah - to the DVD players in the dash too! And the computors too. And the book sitting on the steering wheel too. Many already are driving hands -free using their knees!

 

The remarks made in the original post has spawned the discussion of many issues here. It's true that a company has the right make a policy preventing their drivers from using cell phones while driving. I think the main issue here is whether Walmart or any company has the legal right to force you to provide them access to your personal property. (phone records)

To what end can a company invade the privacy of their employees under the premise of enforcing their company policies? Walmart has a policy, founded in federal law, that states that any employment by a driver outside of walmart must be reported to Walmart so that it can be logged as "on duty not driving" as required by federal law. Can Walmart demand, as a condition of employment, that their drivers provide them with copies of their income tax returns so that they can enforce their policy? I think Walmart would find themselves in deep trouble if they tried to enforce such a policy. Likewise with the cell phone records.

If Walmart sees a driver talking on a cell phone while driving they can act on that alone. They don't need your phone records. This invasion of privacy can reach far beyond the driver of the truck as well. Lots of people have family plans. Turning over your cell phone records will reveal the phone habits of everyone on your account.

What if you, or someone on your family plan:

is having a sexual relationship with your boss or a fellow co-worker or co-worker's spouse? (this may be revealed by a careful study of your phone records)
likes to dial 976-porno numbers late in the night after work? (ok, so big Al is a weirdo, but is his employer entitled to this information?)
is talking to a law firm about whether something your employer is trying to do is legal or not (and you find yourself fired shortly after they see your phone bill)
is calling a psychic network and your boss thinks you're an idiot for believing in that crap... (resulting in you being overlooked for advancement or promotion)

We have courts that can order such documents to be provided if the circumstances are warranted. Some companies just don't want to be bothered with the inconvenience of obtaining these records through legal due process. They want to bypass the court; especially if the court might say NO to their request. The courts in some states take great offense to this. I wouldn't want to be Walmart when it came time to answer to one of these courts.

By the way... Walmart postponed implementing this policy on March 1st 2012 as originally planned. Smart move in my opinion.

EDIT: Lookup the media coverage of employers demanding Facebook passwords "as a condition of employment" or "part of hiring process". Senators are already promising to introduce legislation to make this type of invasion of privacy illegal.

 

Even without detailed billing you can still get a sheet detailing calls from your carrier. As you are on company property and company time, you can be compelled by the boss to show this sheet to him. Throw away phone is best...just be sure they don't know you have it and thow it away