Silly or not, it's a rule

Casadena

Dear Prudence,

I work in a very strictly run call center. Shift start and end times, breaks, and even when we’re allowed to go to the restroom are all highly regulated. Since we handle credit card and other confidential information, we are not allowed to use cellphones on the floor. The other day while taking one of my bathroom breaks, I took out my phone and responded to a text message while “doing my business.” When I returned to my station, a supervisor greeted me with a write-up in hand. Apparently, the supervisor had seen me using my phone through the cracks of the stall door. I feel like my privacy has been violated, but I don’t know if I can fight this since we have a strict no-cellphone policy while we’re at work. What are my legal options, if any, if they were to use this to terminate me one day?

VarunaTT

I haven't ever worked in a retail setting where the bathroom is "on the floor".  I find it awfully creepy that someone was looking through the crack in the door -- that's not an easy angle to get.

IDK that LW has any recourse, but I'd probably not be using the restroom there again.

levioosa

I dunno, I might call their bluff. Take it to HR, please tell them how you were watching me as I was undressed using the restroom during a protected break. 

Casadena

but someone could have easily seen her with the phone in her hand or pocket walking to and from the breakroom. Spying in a stall is not the only option. It seems like she's assuming that's how they saw it? Call centers are notoriously strict with phone usage and they're usually supposed to be locked up/not on the floor at all - so even if LW is not using it, it likely shouldn't be on their person at all. 

levioosa

Good point @casadena. I didn't think about that. 

short+sassy

Unless it's medically necessary, I don't see what "legal recourse" the LW would have.  I'm surprised they can't use their phone when they aren't "on the floor", but it seems like the LW knows that wasn't allowed and did it anyway.

But the call center's claim it's to "protect customer's confidential info and credit card numbers" is bullshit.  There are tons of jobs where people have access to customer credit card numbers and are allowed to have their cell phones with them.

I worked at a Navy facility that had secret clearance documents on site, ffs!  No, they weren't lying around.  But everyone could bring their personal cell phones to work.

charlotte989875

Our call centers aren’t this strict but they do have rules other parts of the bank don’t- because they’re dealing with SSNs, credit card and bank account numbers, customers personal data- often they have to repeat info back to customers. I’m not hyper paranoid that Siri is always listening but we also know she is always listening. 

banana468

I think it's BS but unless the LW can literally prove that the only time the phone was out was while they were seated I wouldn't fight it. 

MyNameIsNot

short+sassy said:

Unless it's medically necessary, I don't see what "legal recourse" the LW would have.  I'm surprised they can't use their phone when they aren't "on the floor", but it seems like the LW knows that wasn't allowed and did it anyway.

But the call center's claim it's to "protect customer's confidential info and credit card numbers" is bullshit.  There are tons of jobs where people have access to customer credit card numbers and are allowed to have their cell phones with them.

I worked at a Navy facility that had secret clearance documents on site, ffs!  No, they weren't lying around.  But everyone could bring their personal cell phones to work.

It's really not. One of the projects I work with involves an outsourced call center that accepts and bank drafts credit cards by phone. The payment team works in a separate room and have to store their phones in lockers outside of the room if they bring them into the building. The security is tighter than it was when we handled this work in-house for a bunch of reasons. The majority of call centers on and offshore are outsourced and staffed primarily by minimum wage workers with a ton of turnover. Tight security like this is something they use as a selling point.