/s/ John Berry
Assistant Secretary -
Policy, Management and Budget
June 14, 2000
1. Definitions:
Broadcast Transmission is a message or e-mail note sent at once from a single user to many users and/or sites.
Commercial gain activity is defined as any activity involving or relating to buying, selling, advertising, leasing, or exchanging products or services for anyone's personal profit or gain. It includes day trading and buying or selling real estate for commercial purposes.
Limited personal use means activity that is conducted for purposes other than accomplishing official or otherwise authorized activities, and that does not adversely affect the employee's job performance and is further defined for each kind of equipment in section 2a thru section 2e.
Negligible is an amount sufficiently small that the quantity or cost may be disregarded.
Non-duty time is time when the employee is not expected to be performing official business. To the extent permitted by this policy, employees may, for example, use Government office equipment during their own off-duty hours such as before or after a workday (subject to local office hours), lunch periods, authorized breaks, weekends or holidays (if their duty station is normally available to them at such times).
2. Limited Personal Use of Government Office Equipment: Employees may use Government office equipment only for official business or as otherwise authorized by the Government. This policy authorizes limited personal use of certain Government property as long as it occurs on non-duty time, does not interfere with official business, is not a commercial gain activity or is otherwise prohibited, and the expense to the Government is negligible.
Managers may place additional restrictions on the use of Government property for personal purposes only for instances of abuse of this policy or in order to meet management needs and mission objectives.
Prior to adopting and/or implementing this policy, local management must fulfill its labor-management obligations with their employees' exclusive bargaining representative(s) as appropriate, paying particular attention to any applicable collective bargaining agreement containing language on the use of equipment and technology. Such language prevails over this policy until such time as the contract provides that this policy applies or other language concerning these issues is agreed to by the parties.
E-mail messages (and other electronic information) are Government resources that may be covered by the Federal Records Act and/or Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts. Employees
have no expectation of privacy in these communications resources (e.g., e-mail, faxes, Internet, cell phones, or computers). By use of Government resources for personal purposes, employee consent to monitoring and recording with or without cause is implied.
The following limited personal uses of Government office and library collections are hereby authorized for all employees. Supervisors should be consulted prior to any personal use of government office equipment if there is any question whether such use is appropriate under the terms of this policy.
a. Office Equipment: Employees on non-duty time are allowed limited use of office equipment for personal uses that involve only negligible expense to the Government (such as electricity, sheets of paper, ink, and ordinary wear and tear) and do not interfere with official business. For purposes of this policy, office equipment includes copy machines, computers, printers, and fax machines. Copy machines, fax machines, and printers are for official business; however, personal use of less than ten pages per week is permissible on occasion. See section 6 for equipment prohibited from personal use by this policy.
Loading personally-owned software (such as tax preparation programs, computer games, etc.) on Government machines is prohibited. Color copiers and color printers when used to print in color, are excluded from this policy at this time due to high associated costs. Employees may not use official stationery, envelopes, or postage for personal purposes under any circumstances.
b. Telephones, including Cellular Phones: This policy does not apply to personal use of telephones. Such use is covered by the DOI Telephone Use Policy.
c. Internet: Employees on non-duty time are allowed to use the Internet for personal use as set forth in and in accordance with the Internet Acceptable Use Policy (IRM Bulletin 1997-001, available on DOI home page, http://www.doi.gov/orim/bulletins). Except as prohibited by this policy, employees are allowed to make some personal purchases through the Internet, but only during non-duty time. When making such purchases, however, employees must have the purchases sent to a non-Government address. Purchasing activities that are prohibited, and restrictions on "push" technology and using the Internet as a radio or music player, are listed in the section of this policy entitled Improper Use of Government Office Equipment (Section 3).
d. E-mail: Employees on non-duty time are allowed to use Government e-mail systems and computers for limited personal use with the following restrictions:
(1) The cost to the Government for the personal use of e-mail must be negligible. Personal use of e-mail also must not cause congestion, delay or disruption of service to any Government system or equipment; e.g., by transmitting large attachments. Employees must follow guidance provided by their Bureau or Office Systems Administrator.
(2) Employees may use e-mail for personal point-to-point electronic transmissions or personal transmissions not to exceed 5 addressees per e-mail both as employee-generated personal messages and in response to personal messages received by the employee. Broadcast transmissions, mass mailings or bulletin boards for personal use are prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Bureau or Office Systems Administrator.
(3) Employees using e-mail for personal purposes must not represent themselves as acting in an official capacity.
(4) Employees are reminded to use caution when giving out their Government e-mail address for personal purposes, particularly when "registering" at various Internet sites. Registering may result in the employee receiving unwanted e-mail which in turn could strain the DOI network resources with increased e-mail traffic.
e. Library collections: Employees on non-duty time are allowed to use DOI library collections, such as books, microfiche, newspapers and other materials, for personal purposes.
3. Improper Use of Government Office Equipment: Unauthorized or improper use of Government office equipment could result in disciplinary or adverse personnel action, as described in the DOI Personnel Handbook on Charges and Penalty Selection for Disciplinary and Adverse Actions, or loss of use or limitation on use of equipment, criminal penalties, and/or employees being held financially liable for the cost of improper use.
a. Employees are prohibited from using government office equipment and e-mail for personal uses except as authorized by this policy.
b. Employees are prohibited from using Government office equipment, at any time, for activities that are illegal; e. g., gambling (5 CFR 735.201), or that are inappropriate or offensive to co-workers or the public, such as the use of sexually explicit material or material or remarks that ridicule others on the basis of race, creed, religion, color, sex, disability, age, national origin or sexual orientation.
c. Employees are prohibited from using Government office equipment at any time for any outside fund-raising activity, endorsing any product or service, participating in any lobbying activity, or engaging in political activities. Note: Different rules for lobbying and political activity apply to employees appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Those employees should consult the DOI Ethics website for guidance.
d. Employees are prohibited from using Government office equipment at any time to make purchases for personal commercial gain activity. See definition of commercial gain activity.
e. Employees are not authorized to remove Government property from the office for personal use.
f. Employees are prohibited from using Government-provided access to the Internet to present their personal views in a way that would lead the public to interpret it as an official Government position. This includes posting to external news groups, bulletin boards, or other public forums.
g. Employees are prohibited at any time from using the Internet as a radio or music player. Such live stream use of the Internet could strain the DOI network and significantly slow communications, inhibiting DOI employees from conducting official business.
h. Employees are prohibited at any time from using "push" technology on the Internet or other continuous data streams, unless they are directly associated with the employee's job. Push technology from the Internet means daily, hourly or continuous updates via the Internet; e.g., news, stock quotes, weather, and similar information. Continuous data streams could degrade the performance of the entire network.
4. Motor Vehicles/Aircraft/Boats: This policy does not apply to the use of Government motor vehicles or aircraft (31 U.S.C. 1349(b)), boats, or other means of transportation.
5. Government Charge Cards: Government charge cards absolutely are not to be used for personal use in any circumstances. (See DOI Integrated Charge Card Guidelines and Bureau Supplements).
6. Government Equipment Not Covered by This Policy: Government equipment excluded from this Limited Personal Use Policy includes, but is not limited to, the following equipment: color copy machines; color printers when used for color printing, scientific equipment; heavy equipment; photographic equipment; computer projector equipment (i.e., LCD projectors); scanners; slide projectors; overhead projectors; TVs; VCRs; specialized testing, measuring or engineering equipment; machine shop tools and equipment; firearms; map reproduction machines; lawn mowers; chainsaws; and any other similar equipment.
7. Penalties: Disciplinary actions for non-compliance with this policy will be handled in accordance with Departmental personnel policies and the DOI's Personnel Handbook on Charges and Penalty Selection for Disciplinary and Adverse Actions. Selection of the penalty should be the least severe penalty necessary to correct misconduct and to discourage repetition. However, it is important to note that the supervisor retains full authority to set penalties as he/she deems appropriate based on the particular circumstances and specifications of the offense. Corrective action covers a full range of remedies which may include oral and/or written warnings or reprimands, suspension without pay, or removal from Federal service. In the case of a serious offense where a formal action may be taken, supervisors should consult with their Human Resources office immediately.
8. Statutes and Regulations: This policy does not override any statutes or regulations governing the use of specific Government property.
9. Conservation of Government Property: In using Government property, employees should be mindful of their responsibility to protect and conserve such property, and to use official time in an honest effort to perform official duties. See 5 CFR 2635.101(b)(9), 2635.704(a) and 2635.705(a).
10. Related Authorities: