Seattle Business Networking Blog

Washington State’s New Hands-Free Cell Phone Law: Businesses Face Unique Challenges And Issues Regarding Compliance

Speech recognition tools among the technologies, tips that help businesses keep employees safe, productive and in compliance with the law in new guide from DialPro Northwest and Personnel Management Systems

Seattle, Wash. (June 9, 2010) ? As Washington State gears up for its new law that makes hand-held cell phones and text messaging while driving a primary offense, many businesses in the state face their own unique set of challenges in complying with the law: how to handle employees who spend a significant part of their workday on the road.

Two Washington companies, DialPro Northwest and Personnel Management Systems, are teaming up to help businesses keep their employees safe and connected to the office with expert tips in a new guide that helps businesses navigate the unique challenges and issues many face in keeping their employees safe, productive and in compliance with the law.

“Most company HR policies are out of date and need to be updated,” says Jack Goldberg, president, Personnel Managements Systems, a leading provider of outsourced human resource management services. “We encourage businesses to review their policies in light of current employee cell phone usage and the law. Employees should minimize the amount of time they use the cell phone while driving on the job, and to always stay safe by using headsets or hands-free devices when they absolutely need to use the phone.”

“Unlike individuals, many businesses have employees who have to stay connected to the office by phone and email while on the road,” says Dennis Tyler, president of DialPro Northwest, a leading provider of voice messaging and unified communications solutions.? “It is not always feasible for employees to pull to the side of the road. Sometimes a quick response is required to respond to an email message or make a phone call. There are a whole group of business-oriented speech recognition tools that keep employees both safe and connected to the office while offering full compliance with the law.”
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Among the tips and advice available:
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Questions businesses should ask themselves in the face of the new law
Liability and HR policy issues companies need to consider
Overview of technology solutions available to businesses, including state of the art speech recognition tools that allow employees to make calls, check email and more ? all hands free and complying with the law

A full checklist of tips and questions businesses should ask is available online at http://www.dialpronw.com or http://www.hrpmsi.com.