The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has previously supported an employer's policy that prohibits the use of cell phones by employees at work, citing safety concerns. Additionally, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has recently upheld a fine against an employer for the use of signal jammers to obstruct employees from using cell phones during work hours.
Signal jammers are devices that obstruct, block, or interfere with authorized radio frequencies and communications, and their use is prohibited under the federal Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the “Act”), with certain limited exceptions. These mobile jammers represent a significant danger to public safety by preventing individuals from making emergency calls to 911, disrupting first responders' communications, and interfering with critical safety communications in both aviation and maritime environments.
The Act prohibits the operation or use of any device that is designed to transmit energy, communications, or signals through radio within the United States, except when such use is licensed or authorized. Additionally, it is stated in the Act that no individual shall intentionally or maliciously interfere with or disrupt the radio communications of any station that is licensed or authorized under this chapter or operated by the United States Government.
In addition, the Act asserts that "No individual shall manufacture, import, sell, offer for sale, or transport any device or household electronic device or system that does not comply with the regulations enacted under this section, nor shall they use a device that fails to meet the regulations established under this section." These regulations require that radio frequency devices must be authorized by the Federal Communications Commission prior to their utilization.
In conclusion, a jamming device cannot be certified or authorized because its primary objective is to interfere with or block authorized radio communications. The use of such a device would undermine the integrity of the nation’s communications infrastructure. Thus, a jamming device does not fulfill the technical standards required by the FCC and is not legally permissible in the United States.
In this case, the FCC Enforcement Bureau investigated a Texas warehouse business for using a signal jammer after receiving an interference complaint from AT&T. The business owner admitted to using a signal jammer to prevent employees from using their cell phones while working. According to the FCC, the business owner admitted that an AT&T representative had warned her son that using a jammer was illegal. Additionally, according to the FCC, the business owner told FCC agents that she had disposed of the jamming device and was unwilling to retrieve it for the agents or indicate where it was, but she did offer to sell the device to the FCC agents, but was rejected.