Instant Messaging and E-Mail Policy 2

The Company provides employees with electronic communications tools, including an e-mail system and an instant messaging (IM) system.

This written e-mail and instant messaging policy governs employees’ use of the Company’s e-mail and instant messaging systems at the Company’s headquarters and district offices, as well as at remote locations including but not limited to employees’ homes, client officers, supplier officers, hotels, and airports.

The Company’s e-mail and IM rules and policies apply to employees’ use of desktop computers, laptops, and handheld devices, whether provided by the Company or owned by the employee or a third party.

The Company’s e-mail and IM rules and policies apply to fulltime employees, part-time employees, independent contractors, interns, consultants, agents, and third parties including but not limited to suppliers and clients.

Any employee who violates the Company’s e-mail and IM rules and policies is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

E-Mail and Instant Messaging Tools Exist for Business Purposes

The Company’s e-mail and IM systems are provided primarily for business purposes. Employees may use the Company’s e-mail and IM systems for personal use in accordance with this policy.

Authorized Personal Use of the E-Mail and Instant Messaging Systems

Employees may use the Company’s e-mail and IM systems to communicate with spouses, children, domestic partners, and other family members. Employees’ personal use of the Company’s e-mail and IM systems is limited to lunch breaks and work breaks only. Employees may not use the Company’s e-mail and IM systems during otherwise productive business hours.

Employees who need to hold personal communications with persons other than spouses, children, domestic partners, and other family members via the Company’s e-mail and IM systems must obtain permission from management.

Employees are prohibited from using the e-mail and IM systems to operate a business, conduct an external job search, solicit money for personal gain, campaign for political causes or candidates, or promote or solicit funds for a religious or other personal cause. Employees are prohibited from using the e-mail and IM systems to play online games, visit chat rooms, shop online, or engage in illegal activities including but not limited to gambling and drug dealing.

Personal E-Mail and Instant Messaging Tools Banned

Employees are prohibited from using personal Web-based e-mail accounts (such as Hotmail) for business or personal communications.

Employees are prohibited from downloading consumer-grade IM software (AOL, Yahoo!, MSN, and so on) and from accessing the public Internet to transmit instant messages internally or externally.

Employees Have No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy

The e-mail and IM systems are the property of the Company. All passwords, user IDs, and messages created and transmitted are the property of the Company. The Company reserves the right to monitor all e-mail and IM transmissions conducted via the Company’s computer system. Employees have no reasonable expectation of privacy when it comes to business and personal use of the Company’s e-mail and IM systems.

Employee e-mail messages and IM will be monitored. The Company reserves the right to monitor, inspect, copy, review, and store at any time and without notice any and all usage of the Company’s e-mail and instant messaging systems, and any and all files, information, software, and other content created, sent, received, downloaded, uploaded, accessed, or stored in connection with employee usage.

The Company reserves the right to disclose e-mail and instant messaging text and images to regulators, the courts, law enforcement, and other third parties without the employee’s consent.

Prohibited Use of the Company’s E-Mail and Instant Messaging Systems: Offensive Content and Harassing and Discriminatory Activities Are Banned

Company employees have the right to work in an environment that is free from hostility of any kind.

Employees are prohibited from using the Company’s e-mail and IM systems to engage in activities or transmit content that is harassing, discriminatory, menacing, threatening, obscene, defamatory, or in any way objectionable or offensive. Employees are prohibited from using the Company’s e-mail and IM systems to:

• Send, receive, solicit, print, copy, or reply to text or images that disparage others based on their race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, disability, ancestry, or age.

• Send, receive, solicit, print, copy, or reply to jokes (text or images) based on sex, sexual orientation, race, age, religion, national origin, veteran status, ancestry, or disability.

• Send, receive, solicit, print, copy, or reply to messages that are disparaging or defamatory.

• Spread gossip, rumors, and innuendos about employees, clients, suppliers, or other outside parties.

• Send, receive, solicit, print, copy, or reply to sexually oriented messages or images.

• Send, receive, solicit, print, copy, or reply to messages or images that contain foul, obscene, off-color, or adult-oriented language.

• Send, receive, solicit, print, copy, or reply to messages or images that are intended to alarm others, embarrass the Company, negatively impact employee productivity, or harm employee morale.

Confidential, Proprietary, and Personal Information Must Be Protected

Unless authorized to do so, employees are prohibited from using the e-mail and IM systems to transmit confidential information to outside parties. Employees may not access, send, receive, solicit, print, copy, or reply to confidential or proprietary information about the Company, employees, clients, suppliers, and other business associates.

Confidential information includes but is not limited to client lists, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, employee performance reviews, salary details, trade secrets, passwords, and information that could embarrass the Company and employees were it to be made public.

Employees also are prohibited from using the e-mail and IM systems to transmit copyright-protected information without permission of the copyright holder.

Handling Unsolicited E-Mail or Instant Messaging That Violates Company Policy The Company’s e-mail and IM policies prohibit employees from sending inappropriate or offensive material. Employees also are prohibited from receiving material that violates the Company’s e-mail and IM policies. In the event that an employee receives e-mail messages or IM that violate policy, the employee is to take the following steps:

1. If an employee receives e-mail or IM that violates Company policy, and the employee knows the sender, then the employee must immediately instruct the sender to stop sending this type of material.

2. In the case of IM, if the sender continues to send inappropriate material, delete the sender from your IM contact list and block future messages from the sender.

3. If an employee receives e-mail or IM that violates Company policy, and the employee does not know the sender, the employee should not respond or reply to the message. Instead, the employee should immediately notify the IT manager, who will attempt to block receipt of this type of material in the future.

Employees who follow these procedures will not be deemed to have violated policy. Employees who fail to follow these rules and continue to receive banned material may be deemed to be policy violators and may be disciplined or terminated for violating the Company’s e-mail or IM policies.

Violations

These guidelines are intended to provide Company employees with general examples of acceptable and unacceptable use of the Company’s e-mail and IM systems. A violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

Acknowledgment

If you have questions about the above policies and procedures, address them to the Chief Information Officer before signing the following agreement.

I have read the Company’s e-mail and IM policy and agree to abide by it. I understand that a violation of any of the above policies and procedures may result in disciplinary action, up to and including my termination.

___________________________

User Name

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User Signature

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Date

2004, Nancy Flynn, The ePolicy Institute, www.ePolicyInstitute.com. For informational purposes only. No reliance should be placed on this without the advice of counsel. Individual e-mail and instant messaging policies should be developed with assistance from competent legal counsel.