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BOARD OF MAHONING COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
INTERNET ACCESS AND COMPUTER USAGE POLICY
(Mahoning County Personnel Policies and Procedure Manual Section 8.6)
It is the policy of Mahoning County to encourage effective and efficient use of all County equipment for completion of County business. This includes use of the Internet for County employees to provide information to County residents, businesses, and other governmental agencies, to search for information, and for information exchange. With the widespread use of the Internet as an information exchange medium, employees are able to access data that exists on the World Wide Web. Along with this access to the Web comes the potential for abuse. The intention of this policy is to outline issues regarding access and to set out the rules to be followed for Internet access.
The following statements are the intentions and use of the policy.
1. Accesses to the Internet
Employees are not to use their personal Internet accounts during work hours or use County equipment to reach personal sites. Internet access is limited to business purposes only. Business purposes to be determined by the Appointing Authority or Department Director. Data Processing will remove Internet access for any employee for violation of this policy after contacting the Elected official or Department Director.
2 Access Reporting
It is the responsibility of the Appointing Authority or Department Head to monitor and audit use of the Internet within the department. Data Processing will monitor and record user access to the Internet and provide the Appointing Authority or Department head with information that can be used to track access to all Internet sites on a regular basis.
3. Downloading Files
Files are not to be downloaded from the Internet without express consent by the employee’s Appointing Authority or Department Director. The possibility of downloading a file with a computer virus is great and care must be taken not to contaminate any computers in the County. Files downloaded from the Internet, or any other outside service, must be scanned by virus checking software prior to being used on a County computer. Appointing Authority or Department Directors can contact Data Processing for options available for virus checking of downloaded files.
4. Uploading Files
Files are not to be uploaded to the Internet without express consent by the employee’s Appointing Authority or Department Director. Files uploaded to the Internet have the possibility of being intercepted by others and used against the County’s interest. AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING BOARD OF MAHONING COUNTY COURT HOUSE YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO 44503 TELEPHONE: 330-740-2190
5. Prohibited Use of the Internet
a. Commercial use – any form of commercial use of the Internet is prohibited.
b. Copyright violations – any use of the Internet that violates copyright laws is prohibited.
c. Solicitation – the purchase or sale of personal items through advertising on the Internet is prohibited, including but not limited to the purchase and sale of investments, i.e. stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.
d. Harassment – the use of the Internet to harass employees, vendors, customers, and others is prohibited.
e. Political – the use of the Internet for political purposes is prohibited.
f. Aliases – the use of aliases while using the Internet is prohibited. Anonymous messages are not to be sent. Also, the misrepresentation of an employee’s job title, job description, or position in the County is prohibited.
g. Misinformation/Confidential Information – the release of untrue, distorted, or confidential information regarding County business is prohibited.
h. Viewing/Downloading of Non-Business Related Information – the accessing and viewing, downloading, or any other method for retrieving non-County related information is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, entertainment sites, pornographic sites, investment sites, and other sites determined by the Appointing Authority or Department Director to be non-business related.
The County’s policy relative to email includes the following, which is not to be interpreted as exclusive of the above-referenced provisions, but rather is inclusive of same:
1. The County maintains an electronic mail system. This system is provided by the County to assist in the conduct of business within the County.
2. The electronic mail system hardware is County property. Additionally, all messages composed, sent, or received on the electronic mail system are and remain the property of the County. They are not the private property of any employee.
3. The use of the electronic mail system is reserved solely for the conduct of business at the County. It may not be used for personal business. The Appointing Authority or Department Director shall determine whether the electronic mail usage at issue was personal or business related.
4. The electronic mail system may not be used to solicit or proselytize for commercial ventures, religious or political causes, outside organizations, or other non-work related solicitations.
5. The electronic mail system is not to be used to create any offensive or disruptive messages. Among those considered offensive are any messages which contain sexual implications, racial slurs, gender-specific comments, or any other comment that offensively addresses someone’s age, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, or disability.
6. The electronic mail system shall not be used to send (upload) or receive (download) copyrighted materials, trade secrets, proprietary financial information, or similar materials without prior authorization. AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING BOARD OF MAHONING COUNTY COURT HOUSE YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO 44503 TELEPHONE: 330-740-2190
7. The County reserves and intends to exercise the right to review, audit, intercept, access, and disclose all messages created, received, or sent over the electronic mail system for any purpose. The contents of electronic mail properly obtained for legitimate business purposes may be disclosed within the County without the permission of the employee.
8. The confidentiality of any message should not be assumed. Even when a message is erased, it is still possible to retrieve and read that message. Further, the County does not authorize the use of passwords to restrict access to email documents on County-owned equipment.
9. Notwithstanding the County’s right to retrieve and read any electronic mail messages, such messages should be treated as confidential by other employees and accessed only by the intended recipient. Employees are not authorized to retrieve or read any email messages that are not sent to them. Any exception to this policy must receive prior approval by the Appointing Authority or Department Director.
10. Any employees who discover a violation of this policy shall notify their supervisor immediately.
11. Any employee who violates this policy or uses the electronic mail system for improper purposes shall be subject to discipline up to and including termination.
1. Copyrights Most of the information on the Internet is copyrighted. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute copyrighted information regardless of its source. It is the Appointing Authority or Department Director’s responsibility to ensure that copyrighted information is not misused by the employee. Violation of copyright laws endanger the County and legal remedies include large fines.
2. Discrimination Harassing messages, derogatory comments, or other forms of discrimination based upon race, sex, religion, or creed is against the law. It is the Appointing Authority or Department Director’s responsibility to ensure that employees do not engage in discriminatory behavior while accessing the Internet.
3. Privacy An employee’s rights while accessing the Internet by use of County property does not include the right to privacy. The County reserves the express right to monitor, in any way, the activities of the employee while accessing the Internet. Violation of County policy regarding Internet use may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
4. Miscellaneous Issues
a. It is the responsibility of each employee to ensure that software and hardware computer resources owned, leased by, or licensed to the County are properly secured and controlled. b. No employee may misuse his/her authority over any such computer resources.
c. No employee may reproduce or make personal use of proprietary software purchased by and licensed to the County.
d. No employee may use the County’s computer resources for private purposes including family, friends, or for playing games. AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING BOARD OF MAHONING COUNTY COURT HOUSE YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO 44503 TELEPHONE: 330-740-2190
e. No software, data, or information may be removed from the County premises in the form of tape, diskette, print, or other media nor uploaded to the Internet, unless the removal is related to County business.
f. No employee will, without written permission from the Appointing Authority, disclose County information to others.
g. Personal passwords are regarded as confidential and may not be given to others. Any suspected loss or misuse of passwords is to be reported immediately to the Appointing Authority.
h. No user shall install, upload, or download any software on County equipment without the express written consent of the Data Processing Board and the Board of Mahoning County Commissioners.