“Company policy states that personnel are not to conduct business using mobile communications while driving,” David Finch reminds you. He’s a partner at the law firm Wilkes Artis in Washington, D. C., where you work as his administrative assistant.
You nod, waiting for him to explain. He already issued a memo about this rule last year, after a 15-year-old girl was hit and killed by an attorney from another firm. Driving back from a client meeting, the attorney was distracted while talking on her mobile smartphone. The girl’s family sued the firm and won $30 million, but that’s not the point. The point is that mobile phones can cause people to be hurt, even killed.
Finch explains, “Yesterday one of our associates called his secretary while driving his car. We can’t allow this. According to the National Highway Safety Administration, 20 to 30 percent of all driving accidents are related to mobile phone usage. From now on, any violation of our mobile phone policy will result in suspension without pay, unless the call is a genuine health or traffic emergency.”
Your task: Finch asks you to write a memo to all employees, announcing the new penalty for violating company policy.