April is Distracted Driving Month - These Resources Will Help Protect Your Employees and Your Business

Cell phone ban label
for company vehicles

A National Safety Council (NSC) report provides eye-opening information on employer liability and the case for comprehensive cell phone policies. The paper includes sections with case studies, lawsuit awards, federal and state regulations and laws, employer roles, public perceptions and more. Here are some key excerpts from the report:

• An employer may be held legally accountable for negligent employee actions if the employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment at the time of a crash. The key phrase “acting within the scope of his or her employment” can and has been defined broadly in cases of crashes involving cell phones.
• If employers can show that they implemented a total ban policy, educated employees, monitored compliance and enforced the policy, they will be in a more defensible position than if they had not followed these practices.
• The best practice is to ban use of any cell phone device while driving in any vehicle during work hours or for work-related purposes.

The NSC Cell Phone Policy Kit has materials to assist employers with every step of policy development and implementation: 

• Building management support to implement a total ban 
• Getting employee buy-in to improve compliance 
• Educating employees with ready-made promotional pieces

The kit includes a sample total cell phone ban policy and materials to educate management and employees about the risks of hands-free and handheld phones.

• Download the NSC Report (pdf).
• Visit the NSC Distracted Driving Awareness Month page for more resources.
• Visit the Employer Policies page to download a cell phone policy kit.
• Browse cell phone and texting rules signs and labels at ComplianceSigns.com.