HOUMA, LA (AP) — Terrebonne Parish employees are now banned from using cellphones except when talking on hands-free devices while driving.
The Courier’s Chris Leblanc reports the parish council approved a restrictive ordinance on cellphone use during its Wednesday meeting, but parish officials said the policy has been in effect through a memorandum since 2009.
Parish Manager Al Levron said the purpose of the ordinance was to codify the employee policy to give the parish administration authority to enforce it.
According to the ordinance, employees using their cellphones, while operating a vehicle in the course of their employment will constitute a violation of the employee code of conduct.
Officials say if employees are caught violating the cellphone use policy, formal reprimands in the form of written warnings, suspensions and even termination for repetitive offenders are possible.
