Technology Guidelines

COMPUTER USAGE

An employee should always logoff and shutdown his/her computer when leaving for the day or an extended period of time.  Password or access to a computer system should not be given to anyone, except the Data Process Administrator or MIS staff.  The Data Processing Administrator must give prior approval before an employee loads any software onto their computer.  Pirated software should never be loaded onto a County computer.

COMPUTER SCREEN DISPLAYS

Items displayed on a computer screen, as a screen saver or otherwise, must not:

  • Reflect poorly on an employee, be subversive or vindictive towards the County;
  • Support a political party, candidate or partisan political issue;
  • Be discriminatory or contain an offensive subject and/or language.

E-MAIL and INTERNET USAGE

E-mail and Internet usage may be authorized for use in support of official County business.  County Department Heads determine access to the Internet and E-mail services for the individual employees within their office.  All requests must be submitted to the Data Processing Administrator for review.  Access may be limited or unavailable due to limitations of the network system.

Employees may not transmit any confidential County information over the Internet (this includes E-mail).  This includes, but is not limited to, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, financial information, or any other confidential information regarding any department or employee of the County, as well as any information obtained in the course of the employee’s employment.

Any use of Internet or E-mail services to obtain or send offensive or sexually explicit material is prohibited.

Employees who download information from the Internet or E-mail are advised to follow procedures in downloading the information to minimize the risk of contracting a computer virus.  Downloading of information shall be limited to information required for County business.

PENALTIES

Any violation of this policy will subject the employee to discipline up to and including termination.

The employee may be held personally responsible for any criminal or civil action brought about as a result of their activities while using their computer or using the Internet or E-mail services.