Burlington Township makes every effort to provide
the best available technology to those performing services for it.
In this regard, Burlington Township has installed, at substantial
expense, equipment such as computers, electronic mail and voice mail.
A. This chapter
is to advise those who use the business equipment of Burlington Township
on the subject of access to and disclosure of computer-stored information,
voice mail messages and electronic messages created, sent or received
by Burlington Township employees with the use of Burlington Township
equipment.
B. This chapter
also sets forth policy on the proper use of the computer, voice mail
and electronic mail systems provided by Burlington Township.
Burlington Township property, including computers,
electronic mail and voice mail, should only be used for conducting
Township business.
Personal use of the Burlington Township computers
is prohibited, and the Township may, at any time, monitor the use
of said equipment. The employee should not expect any privacy with
respect to any information he or she places in or on the Burlington
Township computers or computer equipment.
The electronic mail system may not be used to
solicit for commercial ventures, religious or political causes, outside
organizations, or other non-job-related solicitations. Furthermore,
the electronic mail system is not to be used to create any offensive
or disruptive messages. Among those messages which are considered
offensive are any which contain sexual implications, racial slurs,
gender-specific comments, or any comments that offensively address
someone's age, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs,
national origin, or disability. In addition, the electronic mail system
should not be used to sent (upload) or receive (download) copyrighted
materials, trade secrets, proprietary financial information, or similar
materials, without prior authorization.
Although Burlington Township may provide certain
codes to restrict access to computers, voice mail and electronic mail
to protect these systems against external parties or entities from
obtaining unauthorized access, employees should understand that these
systems are intended for business use and all computer information,
voice mail and electronic mail messages are to be considered Township
records.
Burlington Township also needs to be able to
respond to proper requests resulting from legal proceedings that call
for electronically stored evidence. Therefore, Burlington Township
must and does maintain the right and the ability to enter into any
of these systems and to inspect and review any and all data recorded
in these systems. Because Burlington Township reserves the right to
obtain access to all voice mail and electronic messages left on or
transmitted over these systems, employees should not assume that such
messages are private and confidential or that Burlington Township
or its designated representatives will not have a need to access and
review this information. Individuals using the Burlington Township
business equipment should also have no expectation that any information
stored on their computer, whether the information is contained on
a computer hard drive, computer discs, or in any other manner, will
be private.
Burlington Township has the right to, but does
not regularly, monitor voice mail or electronic mail messages. Burlington
Township will, however, inspect the contents of computers, voice mail
or electronic mail in the course of an investigation triggered by
indications of unacceptable behavior or as necessary to locate needed
information that is not more readily available by some other less-intrusive
means.
The contents of computers, voice mail and electronic
mail, properly obtained for some legitimate business purpose, may
be disclosed by Burlington Township if necessary within or outside
of Burlington Township.
Given the right to retrieve and right to read
any electronic mail messages, such messages should be treated as confidential
by other employees and accessed only by the intended recipient.
The Burlington Township Administrator will review
any requests for access to the contents of an individual's computer,
voice mail or electronic mail prior to access being made without the
individual's consent.
Any employee who violates this policy or uses
the electronic communication systems for improper purposes may be
subject to discipline, up to and including termination.