The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a fine of nearly $150,000 against an Alabama company that used signal jamming devices to prevent the company’s employees from using their cellphones during working hours.
According to a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture issued in April 2013, the company, The Supply Room, Inc. of Oxford Alabama, operated multiple cellular phone jammers in the company’s warehouse for than two years. The illegal jammers were discovered as a result of an investigation by the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s Atlanta Field Office of strong wideband emissions emanating from the company’s warehouse. In a subsequent inspection of the facility, the company’s general manager told an FCC agent that the warehouse was outfitted with four separate jammers to prevent employees from using their phones at work. The jammers were identified and removed by the agent from the warehouse.
The use of any device that interferes with authorized radio communications is a violation of Sections 201, 302(b) and 333 of the Communications Act, and sections 2.803(g) and 15.1(c) of the Commission’s rules. Further, the use of so-called jamming devices in public places could prevent a user from contacting fire or police personnel in the event of an emergency. Continued violation regarding the use of jamming devices can lead to monetary penalties starting at $16,000 for each violation or for each day of continuing violations, up to $112,500 for any single act. The Commission also has the authority to impose separate monetary penalties for each signal jammer used.
