Specific Guidance
1. Specific Provisions on the Limited Personal Use of Government Equipment and Information Technology
Under this model guidance, employees are authorized limited personal use of government office equipment. This personal use must not result in loss of employee productivity or interference with official duties. Moreover, such use should incur only minimal additional expense to the Government in areas such as:
a. communications infrastructure costs; e.g., telephone charges, telecommunications traffic, etc.;
b. use of consumables in limited amounts; e.g., paper, ink, toners, etc.;
a. communications infrastructure costs; e.g., telephone charges, telecommunications traffic, etc.;
b. use of consumables in limited amounts; e.g., paper, ink, toners, etc.;
c. general wear and tear on equipment;
d. minimal data storage on storage devices; and
e. minimal transmission impacts with moderate e-mail message sizes with small attachments.
2. Inappropriate Personal Uses
Employees are expected to conduct themselves professionally in the workplace and to refrain from using government office equipment for activities that are inappropriate. Misuse or inappropriate personal use of government office equipment includes but is not limited to:
a. the creation, copying, transmission, or retransmission of greeting cards, video, sound or other large file attachments that can degrade the performance of the entire network. "Push" technology on the Internet and other continuous data streams would also degrade the performance of the entire network and be an inappropriate use;
b. access to pornography or hacker sites opens the Department to unacceptable security risk and is considered inappropriate use;
Employees are expected to conduct themselves professionally in the workplace and to refrain from using government office equipment for activities that are inappropriate. Misuse or inappropriate personal use of government office equipment includes but is not limited to:
a. the creation, copying, transmission, or retransmission of greeting cards, video, sound or other large file attachments that can degrade the performance of the entire network. "Push" technology on the Internet and other continuous data streams would also degrade the performance of the entire network and be an inappropriate use;
b. access to pornography or hacker sites opens the Department to unacceptable security risk and is considered inappropriate use;
c. using the Government systems as a staging ground or platform to gain unauthorized access to other systems;
d. the creation, copying, transmission, or retransmission of chain letters or other unauthorized mass mailings regardless of the subject matter;
e. using government office equipment for activities that are illegal, inappropriate, or offensive to fellow employees or the public. Such activities include, but are not limited to: hate speech, or material that ridicules others on the basis of race, creed, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, or sexual orientation;
f. the creation, download, viewing, storage, copying, or transmission of sexually explicit or sexually oriented materials;
g. the creation, download, viewing, storage, copying, or transmission of materials related to illegal gambling, illegal weapons, terrorist activities, and any other illegal activities or activities otherwise prohibited, etc.;
h. downloading, copying, and/or playing of computer video games;
h. downloading, copying, and/or playing of computer video games;
i. use for commercial purposes or in support of "for-profit" activities or in support of other outside employment or business activity (e.g., consulting for pay, sales or administration of business transactions, sale of goods or services);
j. engaging in any outside fund-raising activity, endorsing any product or service, participating in any lobbying activity, or engaging in any prohibited partisan political activity;
k. use for posting agency information to external news groups, bulletin boards or other public forums without authority. This includes any use that could create the perception that the communication was made in one's official capacity as a Federal Government employee, unless appropriate agency approval has been obtained or the use is not at odds with the agency�s mission or positions;
l. any use that could generate more than minimal additional expense to the government (e.g., subscribing to unofficial LISTSERV or other services which create a high-volume of e-mail traffic); and
m. the unauthorized acquisition, use, reproduction, transmission, or distributions of any controlled information including computer software and data, that includes privacy information, copyrighted, trade marked or material with other intellectual property rights (beyond fair use), proprietary data, or export controlled software or data.
3. Proper Representation
It is the responsibility of employees to ensure that they are not giving the false impression that they are acting in an official capacity when they are using government office equipment for non-government purposes. If there is expectation that such a personal use could be interpreted to represent an agency, then an adequate disclaimer must be used. One acceptable disclaimer is �"The content of this message is mine personally and does not reflect the position of the U.S. Government or the Department of the Treasury."
The OGE Standards of Ethical Conduct states - "�an employee shall not use or permit the use of his Government position or title or any authority associated with his public office in a manner that could reasonably be construed to imply that his agency or the Government sanctions or endorses his personal activities" (5 CFR � 2635.702 (b)). In addition, 5 CFR � 2635.704 concerning the use of Government property, CFR � 2635.705 use of official time and 31 CFR � 0.213 concerning general conduct should be reviewed.
It is the responsibility of employees to ensure that they are not giving the false impression that they are acting in an official capacity when they are using government office equipment for non-government purposes. If there is expectation that such a personal use could be interpreted to represent an agency, then an adequate disclaimer must be used. One acceptable disclaimer is �"The content of this message is mine personally and does not reflect the position of the U.S. Government or the Department of the Treasury."
The OGE Standards of Ethical Conduct states - "�an employee shall not use or permit the use of his Government position or title or any authority associated with his public office in a manner that could reasonably be construed to imply that his agency or the Government sanctions or endorses his personal activities" (5 CFR � 2635.702 (b)). In addition, 5 CFR � 2635.704 concerning the use of Government property, CFR � 2635.705 use of official time and 31 CFR � 0.213 concerning general conduct should be reviewed.
4. Access Management
Employees have no inherent right to use government office equipment. Therefore, all bureaus and offices will establish appropriate controls to ensure that the equipment is used appropriately.
5. Privacy Expectations
Executive Branch employees do not have a right, nor should they have an expectation, of privacy while using any government office equipment at any time, including accessing the Internet or using e-mail. To the extent that employees wish that their private activities remain private, they should avoid using government office equipment such as their computer, the Internet or using e-mail. By using government office equipment, executive branch employees give their consent to disclosing the contents of any files or information maintained using government office equipment. In addition to access by the Department, data maintained on Government office equipment may be subject to discovery and Freedom of Information Act requests.
By using government office equipment, consent to monitoring and recording is implied with or without cause, including (but not limited to) accessing the Internet or using e-mail. Any use of government communications resources is made with the understanding that such use is generally not secure, is not private, and is not anonymous.
Employees have no inherent right to use government office equipment. Therefore, all bureaus and offices will establish appropriate controls to ensure that the equipment is used appropriately.
5. Privacy Expectations
Executive Branch employees do not have a right, nor should they have an expectation, of privacy while using any government office equipment at any time, including accessing the Internet or using e-mail. To the extent that employees wish that their private activities remain private, they should avoid using government office equipment such as their computer, the Internet or using e-mail. By using government office equipment, executive branch employees give their consent to disclosing the contents of any files or information maintained using government office equipment. In addition to access by the Department, data maintained on Government office equipment may be subject to discovery and Freedom of Information Act requests.
By using government office equipment, consent to monitoring and recording is implied with or without cause, including (but not limited to) accessing the Internet or using e-mail. Any use of government communications resources is made with the understanding that such use is generally not secure, is not private, and is not anonymous.
6. Sanctions for Misuse.
Unauthorized or improper use may result in loss of use or limitations on the use of the information technology resources, disciplinary or adverse actions, termination, criminal penalties and/or the employee�s being held financially liable for the cost of improper use.
7. Implementation and Use.
This policy is intended to be model guidance for the Department. Therefore, each bureau and office must assess its individual needs and responsibilities as they relate to mission, security, budget, workload, public contact, etc., in determining the extent to which this policy is established and implemented.
8. Labor Relations Responsibilities
Bureaus should involve their unions early � before adopting and completing any labor relations obligations for bargaining, where appropriate. The labor-management relations partnerships should be consulted during bureaus� consideration of adopting this policy. It should be indicated, if appropriate, that the policy does not apply to union representatives when fulfilling their official capacity for the union. Bureaus should consult their collective bargaining agreements for the procedures and rules that apply to the union�s use of equipment and technology under those conditions. However, when union representatives are not engaged in their union representation responsibilities, this policy does apply.
Unauthorized or improper use may result in loss of use or limitations on the use of the information technology resources, disciplinary or adverse actions, termination, criminal penalties and/or the employee�s being held financially liable for the cost of improper use.
7. Implementation and Use.
This policy is intended to be model guidance for the Department. Therefore, each bureau and office must assess its individual needs and responsibilities as they relate to mission, security, budget, workload, public contact, etc., in determining the extent to which this policy is established and implemented.
8. Labor Relations Responsibilities
Bureaus should involve their unions early � before adopting and completing any labor relations obligations for bargaining, where appropriate. The labor-management relations partnerships should be consulted during bureaus� consideration of adopting this policy. It should be indicated, if appropriate, that the policy does not apply to union representatives when fulfilling their official capacity for the union. Bureaus should consult their collective bargaining agreements for the procedures and rules that apply to the union�s use of equipment and technology under those conditions. However, when union representatives are not engaged in their union representation responsibilities, this policy does apply.