Cellular Phone Policy and Procedures

Policy

Effective July 1, 2020, the University will no longer grant new cell phone allowances to employees. This applies to both the cost of service and the cost of the device itself. Employees currently receiving a cell phone stipend will continue to receive a stipend based on the revised policy provisions below. 

Employee discounts continue to be provided through AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.  Please visit the Employee Discount page for more information. 

Procedures

Frequent Use of Cell Phones for Business Purposes

A. Payment of Allowance

Existing employees (prior to July 1, 2020) whose job duties include the frequent need for a cell phone may receive extra compensation, in the form of a cell phone allowance, to cover business-related costs. The following guidelines identify a need for a cell phone and access to the cell phone allowance: 

  • Safety requirements indicate having a cellular phone is an integral part of performing duties of job description. 
  • More than 50% of work is conducted in the field. 
  • Required to be contacted on a regular basis. 
  • Required to be on-call (24/7) 
  • Critical decision maker 

Supervisors are responsible for an annual review of employee business-related cell phone use, to determine if existing cell phone allowances should be discontinued. Please email Christine Daniels if there are any changes to the allowance.

Eligible employees will receive a monthly cell phone allowance of up to $20, not to exceed the actual cost of service. 

B. Use of Phone

When an employee uses their personal device for business purposes, all University policies regarding information security, privacy and acceptable use of electronic resources apply to the use of such a device. These policies are located on the ITS website. 

In these cases, it is recommended that employees set up a “Find My Phone” application which can be used to lock and/or wipe clean a device should it be lost or stolen.  

Wesleyan does not accept any liability for claims, charges or disputes between the service provider and the faculty or staff member.  Recipients of a cell phone allowance must notify Wesleyan of the cell phone number and must continue to maintain the cell phone while in receipt of the allowance. 

Use of the phone in any manner contrary to local, state or federal laws will constitute misuse and will result in immediate termination of the cell phone allowance.