A Personal Policy

This policy establishes new privileges and additional responsibilities for employees in the executive branch. It recognizes these employees as responsible individuals who are the key to making government more responsive to its citizens. It allows employees to use government office equipment for non-government purposes when such use involves minimal additional expense to the government, is performed on the employee's non-work time, does not interfere with the mission or operations of a department or agency and does not violate the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch.

Executive branch employees should be provided with a professional supportive work environment. They should be given the tools needed to effectively carry out their assigned responsibilities. Allowing limited personal use of these tools helps enhance the quality of the workplace and helps the government to retain highly qualified and skilled workers.

Inappropriate Personal Uses

Misuse or inappropriate personal use of government office equipment includes:

• Any personal use that could cause congestion, delay or disruption of service to any government system or equipment. For example, greeting cards, video, sound or other large file attachments can degrade the performance of the entire network.
• Using the government systems as a staging ground or platform to gain unauthorized access to other systems.
• The creation, copying, transmission or retransmission of chain letters or other unauthorized mass mailings.
• 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.
• The creation, download, viewing, storage, copying or transmission of sexually explicit or sexually oriented materials;
• 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.
• 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).
• 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.
• Use for posting agency information to external newsgroups, bulletin boards or other public forums without authority.
• Any use that could generate more than minimal additional expense to the government.
• The unauthorized acquisition, use, reproduction, transmission or distribution of any controlled information including computer software and data, that includes privacy information, copyrighted, trademarked or material with other intellectual property rights (beyond fair use), proprietary data, or export controlled software or data.