It's their business, so they get to set the policies. A guy operating a forklift while talking on a cell phone sounds like an accident waiting to happen. I know a guy who was pinned to a wall through his arm by a careless forklift operator. I know it wasn't you, but if a handful of people are abusing the laid back nature of the small company, setting a rule like this sort of makes sense. And in this economy, the company is probably feeling it and is trying to tighten up a bit. It sucks, but people really shouldn't be talking on cell phones while they're at work. If you're worried about them snooping on your private pictures, bring in a small lock box and lock your phone in it every morning. You have phones at work, so there's really no danger of not being able to make or receive calls in an emergency, either. If I had a business I would have a no cell phone use on the job policy from day one.