HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 113-04 -
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• RESOLUTION
BE IT RESOLVED;by the Common Council of the City of Rochester that the City adopt a
personnel policy regarding the.use of city technology. A copy of the policy is attached.,-:
PASSED AND ADOPTED, BY THE COMMON. COUNCIL OF:THE:CITY: OF
ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA, THIS _� DAY OFG�fC� , 2004.
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SIDENT O SAID COMMON COUNCIL
ATTEST:
CITY CLERN
APPROVED THIS J 54, DAY OF �} ( ,LCh , 2004.
• MAYOR OF SAID.CITY
(Sea[ of the City of
Rochester, Minnesota)
Res200MAdopt perspolicy.email
SECTION USE OF CITY TECHNOLOGY
A. Scope
The City of Rochester provides hardware, software, programs, applications, •
templates, internal and external e-mail messages, facsimile (fax) messages, data,
data files and voicemail messages developed or stored on city-owned, leased, or
rented computer systems or storage media computer systems, voicemail systems,
electronic mail ("e-mail"), and other information systems (hereinafter "City
technology")to employees at City expense for their use in performing their duties for
the City. This policy sets forth the City's guidelines for employee use of all City
technology. This policy's goal is to avoid inappropriate use of systems, maintain
appropriate security, avoid copyright violations and protect City-owned data and
systems.
B. Ownership
1. All City technology systems are the property of the City of Rochester. The
City retains the right to.disclose City technology information to third parties
without providing notice to employees. Disclosure of City technology must
comply with laws and rules applicable to information shared between the City
and federal agencies.
2. Employee use of City technology is not private. This includes, but is not
limited to, the use of internal and external e-mail and Internet use. Use of
passwords does not make files or data private. Passwords must be disclosed •
to supervisors upon request and may be bypassed by the City. E-mail
messages are considered to be city property and may be retrieved from
storage although the sender and receiver have deleted them. These
messages may be used in disciplinary proceedings. By using City
technology, employees consent to any monitoring of that technology that
may take place.
3. Supervisors have the authority to inspect the contents of any City technology.
The Information Systems Manager shall cause the extraction of stored e-mail
messages when requested to do so by authorized supervisory personnel.
Reasons for review. include, but are not limited to, system hardware or
software problems,1 general-system failure, regular system maintenance, a
lawsuit against the City, suspicion of a crime or.violation of policy, or a nee_ d
Jo perform work or provide a service when the employee is unavailable.
C. General Policy
1. Policy. It is the City's policy that City Technology, like other City assets, is to
be used for the benefit of the City. Use of City Technology to violate other
City policies is prohibited and may lead to disciplinary action up to and
including-termination.—Any and all opinions made -using-these systems;
whether implied or expressed, are those of the individual and not necessarily ,
the opinions of the City or its officers. •
2. Privacy. Employees should be aware that others might read messages
created by City Technology for a variety of valid reasons. Although this
• statement is true of many other types of city correspondence, the nature of
e-mail messages in particular can lead one to forget or ignore the fact that e-
mail cannot be considered the private property of the sender or recipient
although passwords or encryption codes are used for security reasons.
3. Personal Use. Pursuant to Section 13.45, subd. 3 of the Rochester Code of
Ordinances, employees may make incidental and reasonable use of City
Technology for private purposes as long as those purposes do not conflict
with policies contained herein or with network rules either now in place or as
later determined to be important for the security and efficient operation of the
network. Should employees make incidental use of City Technology to
transmit-personal-messages;these messages will be treated no differently
than other messages. They may be accessed, reviewed, copied, deleted or
disclosed while stored on the. City's-servers.` You should expect that`a
message may be disclosed to or read by others beyond its original intended
recipients.
4. Authorized Uses. Supervisors or Department Heads may authorize the use
of e-mail to send and receive messages and to subscribe to listserves from
recognized professional organizations and entities relating to the City's
official duties. All employees are authorized to use e-mail as they would us
any other official city communication tool. E-mail communication is
• encouraged when it results in the most efficient or effective means of
communications. The sender of e-mail messages must retain the primary
responsibility for ensuring that the intended receiver receives the
communication.
5. Use Subject to Authorization. The following uses require the employee's
Department Head's written approval and Information System's concurrence:
(a) The use of hardware, related computer equipment and/or software for
e-mail within the City network that the City did not purchase nor does
not own.
(b) The reading of another employee's e-mail.
(c) The encryption of any e-mail message unless_specifically authorized
to do`so and without-depositing the encryption key with the LAN
administrator or the employee's immediate supervisor. The fact that
an employee is allowed to encrypt e-mail does not mean that the e-
mail is intended for personal communication, nor does it mean that
encrypted e-mail messages are the employee's private property.
D. Prohibited-Uses
• The following actions are prohibited unless authorized by court order or performed
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E. Confidential Information.
1. Minnesota law requires all employees to protect the integrity of the City's
confidential information as well as the confidentiality of others. Employees
must exercise a greater degree of caution in transmitting confidential
information on the City Technology system than with other communication
means because of the reduced effort required to redistribute such
information. Confidential information should never be transmitted or
forwarded to other employees inside the City who do not have a need to
know the information. To reduce the chance that confidential information
may be sent inadvertently to the wrong person, avoid misuse of distribution
lists when sending information and make sure any lists are current.
2 If you are unsure'whether information is confidential, you must consuit with
the City Attorney's Office.
3. Here is a partial list of some types of information which may be confidential
(this is not an exhaustive list):
(a) Information from a person's personnel file, including home address,
phone numbers and social security numbers.
(b) Information relating to any pending criminal or civil litigation,judicial or
administrative proceeding.
• (c) Information which would give a competitive advantage to one
competitor or bidder over another.
(d) Information relating to the location or price of property the City might
buy.
(e) Private correspondence of elected officials.
(f) Trade secrets, commercial or financial information of outside
businesses:
(g) Information related to the regulation of financial institutions of
securities.
(h) Information from the City Attorney's'Office or other City legal counsel.`
4. E-mail messages that contain confidential information should have a
confidentiality legend in all capital letters at the top of the message in a form
similar to the following:
THIS MESSAGE CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL-INFORMATION -
OF THE CITY OF ROCHESTER.
UNAUTHORIZED USE OR DISCLOSURE IS PROHIBITED.
as part of an active criminal investigation:
1. Intercepting, eavesdropping, recording or altering of another person's e-mail
message. •
2. Adopting the identity of another person on any e-mail message, attempting to
send e-mail anonymously, or using another person's password without their
permission.
3. Misrepresenting your affiliation on any e-mail message.
4. Using e-mail for any commercial promotional purpose including personal
messages offering to buy or sell goods or services.
5. Sending or receiving software in violation of copyright law.
6. Using City Technology for a personal for-profit commercial purpose, or to
communicate any material of an obscene or derogatory nature.
7. Displaying, printing or transmitting sexually explicit images, messages or
cartoons.
8. Displaying, printing or transmitting racial, sexual or ethnic slurs, comments,
derogatory jokes or cartoons, or anything that might be construed as
harassment, abusive, offensive or disrespectful of others. This includes
anything that fosters a hostile work environment or perpetuates .
discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, sex, marital
status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or
mental disability or affectional preference.
9. Use of the City's Internet mail address for participation in personal or non-city
business related e-mail lists, registrations or other sign-ups.
10. Sharing your user ID or password with anyone without specific permission to
do so granted by the department head or City Administrator. If access to
City Technology is needed',by someone who does not have access, the
Information Systems manager should be contacted so properly.restricted
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access is ranted.`If this access is temporary, the duration of access needs
to be communicated at the time of the request.
11 Attempting to gain unauthorized access, o internal or external computer,
systems.
12. Attempting
p g to decrypt system or user passwords. -
_ pY g programs.
. .
13. Unauthorized coin of system files or software
14. Unauthorized deletion of e-mail messages and data records or files.
5. Since copies of e-mail may be placed on back up or other systems you do
not control, and may be accessed by information system personnel or others
without a need to know the information, e-mail may be an inappropriate
method to communicate certain types of confidential information.
F. Backing Up/Deleting Files. The Information Systems Department backs up all
data except for any files that are stored on the hard drives of employee's
computers. Employees are.expected to store important work-related data on their
network drive to avoid loss through hardware failure. Employees are also expected
to delete old files regularly in compliance with the City's record retention schedule to
help maintain adequate system storage capacity.
G. Copying Data/Programs Onto City Computers. All data files, e-mail attachments,
and software programs must be checked by virus detection software before copying
them onto the City's computer system. This includes downloading software from
the Internet,'remote bulletin boards and any on-line services. Non-work related
software is not allowed to be installed by employees on City computers as it may
cause conflict with City network systems. Any installations by employees should
therefore be reviewed by Information Systems staff before proceeding.
H. Checking Out City Technology. When employees check out portable equipment
such as laptop computers, VCRs, and computer projection units, they are expected
to provide appropriate common sense protection.against theft, accidental breakage,
environmental damage and other risks. Desktop computers and attached devices •
are not to be removed from City buildings.
1. Miscellaneous Considerations for E-mail Messages. E-mail is a valuable form of
communication which can help the City improve its quality of service. However,
employees should consider the following when considering whether a message is
appropriate for e-mail communication:
1. Avoid making a statement in an e-mail message about someone if you would
not make the statement face-to-face with the person or write it in a formal
memo.
2. Avoid making a statement in an e-mail message which may be perceived as
being ill considered, uninformed or offensive.
3. Avoid using e-mail if a more time or cost-effective communication'is available
(for instance, when a telephone conversation would be faster).
4. Avoid using e-mail as a substitute for manager-subordinate face-to-face
communications.
5. Avoid using e-mail for the purpose of evaluating one's job performance.
J. Copyright Infringement: •
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1. Most computer software and programs are copyrighted,ri hted and it is illegal to
make multiple copies. Employees may only copy and use software
I� according to the software license agreement.
2. The ability to attach a document to an e-mail message for distribution greatly
enhances the risk of copyright infringement. A user can be liable for the
unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted material through the e-
mail system. Accordingly, you should not copy and distribute through the e-
mail system any copyrighted material of a third party (such as software,
database files, documentation, articles, graphics files and down-loaded
information) unless you confirm in advance from appropriate sources that the
City has the right to copy or distribute such material. Any questions
concerning copyright information should be directed to the City Attorney's
Office.-
K. E-Mail.Message Retention -60 Days. Normally e-mail messages are transitory,
of short-term interest, and are considered incidental and non-vital communications.
As such, normal e-mail messages are not subject to specific record retention
schedules and should be disposed of immediately after action or review. E-mail is
not an official communication of the city and must not be used for transmitting
information that is part of the official record. In the event that an e-mail message
occurs that relates to the transaction of official city business, the message should
be reduced to print form or .other City-approved archival format (electronic,
optical, or otherwise), and should be retained in accordance with applicable
retention schedules. Otherwise, information system staff will delete all• messages
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after 60 days of receipt or send, whether opened or unopened.
L. Unauthorized Access. All suspected intrusions to the City's network systems by
unauthorized persons or employees are to be reported immediately to the
Department Head and information systems personnel.
M. Penalties / Consequences. Violations of this policy will result in disciplinary
measures that may include reprimands, suspension of some or all computer usage
privileges, and termination. All City Technology messages are subject_to all -
applicable state and federal laws. in addition, violations of this policy or misuse of
the City Technology system that are of a criminal nature maybe referred for criminal - -
prosecution. In addition to taking disciplinary action,the City reserves the right to
use all available legal means to receive reimbursement from a city employee for all
costs and „expenses incurred in correcting„or„ resolving. computer:-problems
associated with the unauthorized installation of software programs onto the
computer assigned to that employee.
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