Employer wanting to confiscate cell phones upon arrival....legal?

Mexico? China?

 

Thing is, I don't think the OP has much of a choice, considering he just started his new job:

 

didnt take that job, been at same place for 9 months, thats why im not selling the truck anymore

 

Remember, we can't talk about political stuff here, but when I lived up north, we had excellent unions and the workers were not dehumanized.

 

I spent 8 years at an aftermarket repair division of one of the major turbine engine manufacturers. We finally had to institute a cell phone policy due to not only employee productivity issues but an in-flight engine event that occurred. An automated weld machine was found to have it's cnc programming distorted when cell phone digital communication/handshake events occurred in the proximity of the machine. Sounds unreal doesn't it? Internal and external engineering studies were done due to liability issues and the interruptions were confirmed and duplicated...so, no cell phones in production areas. A colored map was designed and implemented company wide so employees could see the no-go zones. Employees were provided lockers (free) to secure their phones. Employees were also instructed to provide the plant & supervisor contact information to schools and day care and explain the change in policy. There was the predictable hissy fits but the short version is - the employees were told about the industry findings and safety of flight issues along with engineering confirmation and all plants were to comply by X date. Violations of the policy fell under the progressive discipline policy. We had a few that tried to be tricky and were busted...automatic 3 day unpaid suspension along with a written warning; from 40 and 50 something's no less. Once folks saw this policy had teeth, no more problems.

I'm not a puritan by any stretch, but, your employer pays you to do a job to the best of your ability while you are on the clock and that's what ADULTS do...their job. If I was responsible for signing the paychecks, I would have a serious issue with paying someone for 8 hours but only getting 4-5 hours work out of them. Get real folks, manage your digital life on your time...simple and respectful.

 

Dehumanized? Because an employer doesn't want employees using a cell phone?

 

Lol , dehumanized

Ermahgerd , I can't check Facebook at work

 

Proud of you for having great unions. Good. What does this have to do with having cell phones in the work place? Depending on where you work, it can cause issues as @pavemobile has pointed out. Is he in a call center? If so, cell phones have been known to cause disturbances in land lines and other items around. This is not a union issue, this is an employer who has probably watched his work force with their head between their legs watching videos for way too long, and got tired of the lack of work being done. If I owned a small business, I would hope my employees would use their phones when they were not on the clock, such as break time. You need your phone on you for problems that might arise? Your office should have a direct line somewhere (bosses office?) you can direct link to for emergencies.

 

Somebody should write a book about the awful conditions of the workplace. Specifically the meat lots in Chicago. Then maybe society will make sweeping changes for employee rights.

 

But, employee rights. Jeesh.

 

You have the right to have a job

 

Which amendment in the Bill of Rights was that again?

 

If you want to talk about dehumanization of workers, I would be glad to...rotating shift, closing shift one night, followed by opening shift the next morning, making the workers be on call for part time work, so they can't have a second job, go to school or arrange for child care. And that is just a start...

 

All I am saying is that an employer, be it private or public, has the option to not allow electronic devices in the building. There are many reasons for this, and they can be simple to complicated. In my previous assignment, we had ours put in a locker every day when we went to work on the flight line, as well as any metal on our person. Companies can mandate no cell phones while driving. They can mandate no cell phones in the work area. Does his company deal with sensitive information? Do they handle credit card numbers through the day? Would you want someone to be stealing your CC while you are purchasing something?

A company does not have to employ someone who fails to comply with the rules. Now, they should be more tactful in their approach. Maybe install individual day-use lockers at the entrance where employees can put their phones until break time. We have them at the gym, and you can put in any code into the lock you want.

Maybe the OP should come up with an idea to avoid the boss having all the phones. Pretty easy to do.

 

I go into many areas where cell phone are prohibited, such as explosive operating areas, FOD areas, secure conference rooms and such. But those restrictions are there for a reason. However, for the manager to declare one day that "only he can have cell phones" and require personal phone turn in a condition of continued work, I would think twice about that.

While I believe in a fair days work for a fair days pay, I also have to wonder about companies like Walmart where many of the workers earn so little they quality for federal benefits...

Howard

 

While I certainly don't condone anyone confiscating personal property, I absolutely agree that it's within the employer's right to tell you that you can't have a phone while at work. A job is an employment contract. If he doesn't like the value of your services he's paying for, he should be able to replace you. If you don't like the work you're doing or how you're being treated, you should be able to quit, which you can, and choose another company to work for. No one can force you in this country to take a job you don't want.

Now, can you not just leave the phone in your car and avoid all the hassle?

 

Employment law is far more complex than just contract law, and an employment contract is subject to the statute provisions of the local (often State) employment laws.

Howar

 

They may be able to ban cell phones in the building legally. So they may be able to get away with searching you for it; however, they cannot require you surrender your phone. That is illegal.

 

Actually, surrendering your phone to them isn't illegal. Them perusing your phone while in their custody is.

Always put a code on it. Or ask for lock boxes be installed in the entry way.

 

While I agree the company can ban cell phone usage while at work, asking people to turn their phone in is wrong.

Implement a rule/warning that states anyone who gets caught using their phone will get a warning or possibly fired.

Its definitely not dehumanizing the person tho. That's a bit dramatic.