Employer trying to force porting of personal cell phone number

[seashoreCM]

Hmmmm. Could the company have found out that one employee had a phone number that the company wished to have, for example where the corresponding letters on a phone keypad spelled out the company's name? Or a number that was easy to punch in on the keypad?

Easy way to "steal" that phone number, then perhaps quietly let the remaining employees take back their respective phone numbers with them upon termination of employment.

Long long time ago, in the days of rotary dial phones, certain groups of phone numbers including many made up primarily with ones, twos, and threes, (also some numbers ending in three zeroes) were coveted.

Incidentally area codes way back then all had a zero or one as the center digit. Area codes with one as the center digit were primarily assigned to larger cities; those area codes were faster to dial on a rotary phone.

Anyway, the situation in this thread is definitely fishy, particularly if employees were at first required to have their personal phone numbers printed on company cards and stationery. Then we continue down the slippery slope to today when employees were required to give up those phone numbers "because the numbers were printed on company stationery."

What's next? Stealing an employee's personal web site name dot com?

 

[tvguy]

I think what people are trying to say (who say "is this the hill to die on") is that you do probably own the number; however, if you enforce your rights, you will "put yourself on a clock" with this employer. Now, they won't fire you for this - they aren't stupid. But you might become the "under the microscope" employee that they keep a careful watch on to wait for the chance to reprimand/deny raises/suspend/eventually fire. No one is perfect on a job, and it would probably be a matter of time before they found something they could legally hold against you. So, if you keep the number, you may start wanting to look around to see where you might want to jump in 12-18 months...

I have also seen in situations where an employee stood up to something the company was doing that was wrong, where in the end they were rewarded. Just depends on the boss. Not every manager wants a staff of yes people.

 

[Sun_soakin]

I’m curious how you’re so confident that you’ll be able to port out the number when you leave. The company will be notified and have to approve the port out.

I’ve been at companies that issue expense reimbursements and others that issue stipends. All gave me the option of carrying a company phone. I’ve always declined because my number is my number and will always be my number.

Because lots of people have done that with my employer with zero issues (porting personal number back to personal acct when they leave the company).
Different employer, but we’ve ported my husbands phone out and back onto our family plan. Should have been easy but Verizon screwed up and ported MY number off MY employers acct instead (without my employers permission) and I had to get my employers permission just to get back on their acct

 

[Anthony1971]

The lawyer sited that they likely don't really want the number, they want your sales contacts and all the phone information (which also wasn't disclosed).

This is exactly it... the company does own all of your sales contacts... but never realized people may take them with when they leave.
Most sates are at will meaning you can get fired for any or no reason and in this case it could be company policy period or we just no longer need you... Can you sue-- of course you can you can sue even if they document things you did wrong and in a lot of cases you will win as no one wants to set a president for a situation they themselves may find themselves in... The question is what have you won. If you keep your number and pay the bills they still own the contacts. If you really want to keep your number I would speak with HR tell them you want to keep it for X reasons and you will sign a clause when you separate from the company you will get your number and you will delete all contacts and not use anyone who contacts you for X time -- aka a non compete clause which is where I would imagine this is coming from to start with...

 

[Lewisc]

OP said the phone is her husband's. That changes things. I'd politely say the number isn't mine to port. It's my husbands number. He also uses it for personal calls. I never should have been using it for business calls. Charge me $20 for new business cards.

We don't know what industry. There may compliance reasons why the company has to have access to all texts and calls made from the phone.

 

[MikeNamez]

I would just get a second cell phone and let them pay for it.

 

[threecrazykids]

In essence, that is what they are doing...they are buying new cell phones for all employees. However, with that new cell phone you are required to port over your personal cell # (that was previously required to be used for business) to the company or they are now "requesting your letter of resignation" if you choose not to comply. They are not backing down...you either turn the number over or you're gone.

They claim that they want the number, not all the contacts in the phone. They know that my contacts use what is currently my personal # to reach the business. Therefore, they don't want their customers to call that number in the future and not reach the business, but rather me (as my personal phone) should I leave.

I understand their position, but unfortunately (for me) their exceptionally poor business decision is wreaking havoc on me personally because, let's be honest, a lot is tied to a cell phone number I've had for over 20 years. It was simply cheaper up until now to just pay for a portion of the personal cell phone bill. My assumption is that people have left (for one reason or another), and customers are calling what are now personal phones, and they are tying this to some loss of business. I find it hard to believe THAT many customer's wouldn't just Google the company name and find a current number.

 

[princessfionasmom]

In essence, that is what they are doing...they are buying new cell phones for all employees. However, with that new cell phone you are required to port over your personal cell # (that was previously required to be used for business) to the company or they are now "requesting your letter of resignation" if you choose not to comply. They are not backing down...you either turn the number over or you're gone.

They claim that they want the number, not all the contacts in the phone. They know that my contacts use what is currently my personal # to reach the business. Therefore, they don't want their customers to call that number in the future and not reach the business, but rather me (as my personal phone) should I leave.

I understand their position, but unfortunately (for me) their exceptionally poor business decision is wreaking havoc on me personally because, let's be honest, a lot is tied to a cell phone number I've had for over 20 years. It was simply cheaper up until now to just pay for a portion of the personal cell phone bill. My assumption is that people have left (for one reason or another), and customers are calling what are now personal phones, and they are tying this to some loss of business. I find it hard to believe THAT many customer's wouldn't just Google the company name and find a current number.

If you have that in writing from them I’d head right to a lawyer, I can’t imagine that is legal in any way shape or form. And technically it’s not your number to port so they can’t fire you if your husband says no. This is one if the craziest employer stunts I’ve heard in a little while. I feel bad for you having to deal with this.

 

[AgentMama]

If you have that in writing from them I’d head right to a lawyer, I can’t imagine that is legal in any way shape or form. And technically it’s not your number to port so they can’t fire you if your husband says no. This is one if the craziest employer stunts I’ve heard in a little while. I feel bad for you having to deal with this.

This! I'm not going to lie, I'm super curious who you work for that is requiring this. But I agree, I would seek a labor and employment attorney immediately.

 

[threecrazykids]

So we called the Nebraska Department of Labor. They stated that the company isn't breaking any currently written laws, but they are going to look into it. She stated that the company may have run numbers and realized that they would take their chances on people filing lawsuits and decided it was worth the risk. She did say though that this is a huge red flag for the company for firings over the next 2 years though due to retaliation against "whistle blowers". She said anyone who is fired over this will absolutely get unemployment, and would likely win a loss of wages lawsuit if they so choose.

But technically they can do this - it's a gamble for the company, but one they are willing to take I guess.

 

[bigbabyblues]

.

 

[serenitynow]

So we called the Nebraska Department of Labor. They stated that the company isn't breaking any currently written laws, but they are going to look into it. She stated that the company may have run numbers and realized that they would take their chances on people filing lawsuits and decided it was worth the risk. She did say though that this is a huge red flag for the company for firings over the next 2 years though due to retaliation against "whistle blowers". She said anyone who is fired over this will absolutely get unemployment, and would likely win a loss of wages lawsuit if they so choose.



But technically they can do this - it's a gamble for the company, but one they are willing to take I guess.

Did you get that in writing?

 

[Pumbaa_]

Wow. They would rather fire an employee and still lose that number plus incur the cost of recruiting and training a new employee. Time to look for a new job. And hey, looks like you will be able to collect unemployment while doing so

 

[Bren's Mom]

Did you get that in writing?

I sure hope so!!

 

[SharonZ]

Is it a difficult situation, yes. Is it legal, maybe? Is it fair, absolutely not. Are you willing to lose your job over a phone number? You need to pick your battles, and this is a tough one.

 

[Miffy]

As I've been reading through this thread, I keep thinking this: If anyone at all refuses to give over their phone number and quits/is fired, then the company will still have to redo all the materials containing this person's phone number since the company will no longer have control of it. Therefore, that justification for wanting your number is pretty weak.

OP, I hope you are actively looking for a new job. The place where you currently work sounds awful.

 

[Keli]

I want to say something like "I'd just tell them it's my hubby's number and he said no, he's not willing to let you have it". But in reality I like getting paid on payday so more than likely, even if I'm not thrilled with the job, I'd hand it over but feel pretty bitter about it. Unless it was a number that was super special to me. I have a friend who took over her dad's number after he passed because she couldn't stand the idea of it being disconnected and given to a stranger after his death. I am certain she would quit a job rather than hand that number over to her employer. I have had the same phone number for about 20 years now. I've kept it through a few different cell phone providers and I would really hate to lose it because everyone that knows me has that number but when it comes down to it, it's just a phone number to me, no special attachment, just wouldn't want the hassle that would come with changing.

 

[piccolopat]

In essence, that is what they are doing...they are buying new cell phones for all employees. However, with that new cell phone you are required to port over your personal cell # (that was previously required to be used for business) to the company or they are now "requesting your letter of resignation" if you choose not to comply. They are not backing down...you either turn the number over or you're gone.

They claim that they want the number, not all the contacts in the phone. They know that my contacts use what is currently my personal # to reach the business. Therefore, they don't want their customers to call that number in the future and not reach the business, but rather me (as my personal phone) should I leave.

I understand their position, but unfortunately (for me) their exceptionally poor business decision is wreaking havoc on me personally because, let's be honest, a lot is tied to a cell phone number I've had for over 20 years. It was simply cheaper up until now to just pay for a portion of the personal cell phone bill. My assumption is that people have left (for one reason or another), and customers are calling what are now personal phones, and they are tying this to some loss of business. I find it hard to believe THAT many customer's wouldn't just Google the company name and find a current number.

Don't submit a letter of resignation. Let them take the threatened action so you can get unemployment until you find a new job. The company I retired from moved from NY to NJ last year and could have kept the old numbers but opted for all new numbers. It did not cause any difficulties with clients since everyone was notified in advance and for months after the move. The cost of updating business cards, our website and some sales literature was relatively small. Sounds like your company is just being cheap at the expense of the people who work there.

 

[cel_disney]

I think the first thing I would do is create a copy of my phone contacts!! Because the data will be much more important - I thjnk it’s really easy to send someone a text and say ‘hi Sara - it’s John - I just changed my cell number - can you update my contact info please?! Thanks!’

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Something just doesn't add up here. The employer is up to something, other than what they are disclosing.