CARGILL DISCIPLINES EMPLOYEES USING PHONES

Texting and Driving Will Not Be Tolerated

Cargill Corporation, a privately held global corporation founded in Iowa 152 years ago, providing food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services throughout the world, has issued a total ban on employees using mobile phones in company vehicles.

The order came down on January 1, 2017, affecting about 150,000 employees.

A report in the Washington Post makes it clear that this is a total ban, meaning no texting and no talking on a phone in any moving vehicle owned, leased or rented by the company, even if the employee has a hands-free device.

As we reported last fall, only four states remain that still allow texting and driving. 

The mandate also forbids employees from using phones in their own cars if they are doing company business. The National Safety Council (NSC) advocates believe that Cargill is the largest privately held corporation to impose such a ban.

Cargill was moved to issue the ban because of the growing number of smartphones available and drivers not fully aware of the dangers of not having their full attention on the task of driving, thinking that work was more important.

If employees are disciplined for not abiding by the ban, they can be reprimanded or terminated, all decided on a case-by-case basis, and the company operates on an “honor system” to stay loyal to employees and the company’s wishes.

Deborah A.P. Hersman, President and Chief Executive of the NSC, said, “You really have to change your mindset to put your employees’ safety and the safety of others on the road first.”

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