CITY OF PORTLAND

HUMAN RESOURCES

ADMINISTRATIVE RULES

EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR & EXPECTATIONS

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

Purpose

The City of Portland provides information technologies to its employees to use in the course of doing their jobs. This administrative rule covers the use of information technologies for internal and external communication as a tool for conducting the City’s business, and as a research tool and information resource. The term Information Technologies includes, but is not limited to, the Internet, Intranet, extranet, internal and external e-mail, the World Wide Web, file transfer protocol (FTP) and newsgroups or electronic bulletin boards.

This administrative rule mandates ethical employee use of information technologies, encourages use that enhances employee productivity, confirms that electronic communications used in the conduct of government are generally considered public records and to prohibit inappropriate use.

The Bureau of Information Technology (BIT) maintains authority for the technical standards of information technologies and the Bureau of Human Resources maintains authority over employee behavior in the use of those technologies. Because of the rapid change in information technologies, this administrative rule will be reviewed periodically and modified to address new concerns.

Employee Use of Information Technologies

City of Portland employees’ use of City information technologies must comply with all applicable Oregon Revised Statutes, City Code and City Administrative Rule provisions, and any bureau work rules. City employees must comply with accepted standards and practices for use.

Employees’ use must protect the integrity of the City’s computer systems, data and networks. Employees’ use of information technologies must comply with all service and contractual agreements with commercial Internet service providers, intellectual property rights, copyright and software license agreements.

All employees using City information technologies are responsible for reading and complying with this administrative rule.

No Expectation of Privacy in the Use of Information Technology

All computer applications, programs, and information created or stored by employees on city owned information systems are City property. Employees shall have no expectation of personal privacy in the use of the City’s information technologies.

Bureau Rules May Be More Restrictive

The standards and guideline outlined in this administrative rule are minimum standards for City bureaus and offices. Bureaus may develop rules regarding bureau-specific use of information technologies. City bureaus may develop more

restrictive work rules based on the operational needs of the particular bureau or office.

Each bureau director or administrator is responsible for their respective employees’ use of information technologies and for the contents of their bureau’s information presented using information technologies. See the Bureau of Information Technology’s website for technological standards.

Monitoring of Information Technologies by the City of Portland

The City of Portland will monitor the use of information technologies including e-mail, web site visits, other computer transmissions and any stored information created or received by City employees with the City’s information systems. The City has site blocking hardware/software in place to block access to sites deemed inappropriate. Access to websites is blocked at the discretion of bureau directors and Commissioners.

Requests for monitoring the web surfing activity of an individual employee or department must be submitted in writing to the Director of Human Resources or designee and must be submitted by a bureau director or designee.

Individual Reports

Requests for monitoring a specific employee’s web activity should contain a reason for the request.

Group Reports

Requests for aggregate reports for group or bureau-wide web activity do not require a specific rationale.

Neither individuals nor groups need to be notified of monitoring. However, should the report indicate use of the Internet which violates bureau or City Administrative Rules, all applicable requirements in a collective bargaining agreement or in the administrative rules must be followed prior to implementing discipline.

Generating Reports

When the Director of Human Resources approves a monitoring request, a written request defining the desired information will be submitted to the appropriate technical administrator in the Bureau of Information Technology (BIT). The administrator will generate a web activity report and submit it to the Director of Human Resources. The Bureau of Human Resources and the Bureau of Information Technologies will maintain a record of all requested reports.

Confidentiality

Reports on individual web surfing activities are considered personnel requests and should be viewed as confidential. However, these reports are public records and may be subject to disclosure. All requests for disclosure should be referred to the City Attorney for response.

Website Blocking Exception

The Bureau of Human Resources acknowledges that on occasion there may be a legitimate and compelling City business reason for an individual or a specific work group to gain access to a site that is otherwise blocked. If such a situation

arises, a bureau director must submit a written request to the Director of Human Resources which includes;

1.  The name and position of the employee(s) for whom an exception is being requested;

2.  The specific web site to which the employee(s) require access;

3.  The compelling City business need for access to the site.

The Bureau of Human Resources will review the request and provide a written response within five (5) working days. The Bureau of Human Resources is predisposed to maintaining a consistent policy on web access and may suggest alternative approaches for meeting the business need. If an exception is granted, Human Resources will send authorization and written instructions to a designated Bureau of Information Technology staff member requesting that the exception be implemented.

Acceptable Uses of Information Technologies

The City’s information technologies are intended for professional business use in performing the duties of an employee’s job. Limited personal use may be permitted according to the following guidelines;

1.  It is incidental, occasional and of short duration;

2.  It is done on the employee’s personal time. Personal time means during breaks, lunch and/or before and after work as defined by collective bargaining agreements, City Administrative Rules and bureau work rules.

3.  It does not interfere with any employee’s job activities. This includes activities which might pose a conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety with an individual’s employment with the City;

4.  It does not result in an expense to the City;

5.  The employee has prior supervisor approval for said personal use, given in concert with the requirements of this rule;

6.  It does not solicit for or promote commercial ventures, religious or political causes, outside organizations or other non-job related solicitations;

7.  It does not violate the other “Prohibited Uses” section in this administrative rule.

Other acceptable uses of information technologies include:

1.  Communication with other federal, state or local government agencies, their committees, boards and commissions;

2.  Communications, including information exchange, research, professional development or to maintain job knowledge or skills;

3.  Communications and information exchanges directly relating to the mission and Charter of the City of Portland and the work tasks of individual bureaus in support of work-related functions.

Prohibited Use of InformationTechnologies

The following list of prohibited uses for information technologies in not intended to be all-inclusive.

1.  To cause a breach of security or any action to attempt to circumvent or reduce the security of the City’s computer and network resources or of any confidential information entrusted to the City’s custody.

2.  Misuse of service or any action that renders the user’s computer equipment unusable that interferes with another City employee’s use of information technologies.

3.  Illegal use or use of City information resources in the commission of an illegal act.

4.  Failure to limit the recipients of messages appropriately, propagating virus hoaxes, “spamming” (spreading e-mail or postings widely and without good purpose), or “bombing” (flooding an individual or group with numerous or large e-mail messages).

5.  City Internet Technology resources may not be used for the generation or forwarding of chain letters.

6.  Accessing or transmitting information that conflicts with City Code, Administrative Rules or bureau work rules for non-job related reasons such as information in violation of the City’s non-discrimination policy.

7.  Accessing racist and sexually explicit sites.

8.  Commercial endorsement or use of City information technologies in a manner that would constitute an endorsement of a specific commercial entity, its products, services, or business practices. The City’s e-mail system may not be used for commercial activities, religious causes, or support for other activities that are not related to the direct conduct of city business.

9.  Use of city information technologies for political activity or in a manner that would directly or indirectly assist a campaign for election of any person to any office, or for the promotion of or opposition to any ballot proposition. This prohibition shall not apply to the use of City computer or network resources for the development or delivery of a neutral and objective presentation of facts relevant to a ballot proposition as allowed by state law, provided that such use must be a part of the normal and regular conduct of the employees developing or delivering the presentation of facts.

10.  Altering electronic communications to hide one’s identity or to impersonate another individual. All e-mails, news posts or any other form of electronic communication must contain the sender’s real name and/or e-mail address.

11.  City employees may not buy, sell or trade goods, services or financial instruments via the City’s internet for personal financial gain.

12.  Accessing streaming audio or video or any other bandwidth intensive activities such as downloading large audio or video files, such as MP3, at any time for non-business purposes.

13.  City employees may not use the City of Portland’s information resources to avoid the expense of personally purchasing comparable hardware, software, and/or internet access.

14.  Users may not remove or modify any city-owned equipment or software without specific authorization from the Bureau of Information Technologies.

15.  Employees may not download any software not previously approved by the Bureau of Information Technology. Unlicensed or copied software is prohibited on any City computer. This does not include downloading software from the BIT website.

16.  Users may not copy city-licensed computer software for personal use.

Broadcast or “All Employee” E-Mail Messages

Employees may not use the City’s e-mail system to send “broadcast” e-mail messages unless there is Bureau Director approval. In this instance “broadcast” means sending an e-mail message to 50 or more City employees (outside of the sender’s bureau.)

To send a broadcast e-mail to all employees, the sender must have the endorsement of his/her Bureau Director and provide a contact name and phone number for the announcement. The message must also include the following warning “Please do not use the “Reply to All” function with this message.” Bureau Directors are accountable for approved messages and are encouraged to be conservative about approving “All City Employees” e-mail messages.

The sender must contact the City e-mail administrator for authorization to use the “All City Employees” distribution list. Broadcast messages containing attachments will be reviewed for file size.

The City’s Intranet is the most appropriate place for announcements of general interest.

Union Use of E-Mail

Union use of e-mail is authorized in accordance with the above stated section on Acceptable Use of Information Technologies provided it does not conflict with bureau work rules and the section on “Prohibited Use”.

Virus Protection

The Bureau of Information Technologies is responsible for assuring that City-approved anti-virus protections are installed, maintained, and active on every workstation. Employees are expected to take all anti-viral warnings seriously and to conform to procedures for reporting and responding to them. Deliberate transmission of data containing a computer virus will be considered a breach of security and in violation of this rule.

Netiquette, E-mail Guidelines and Information Technology Definitions

As an addendum to this rule, attached are guidelines for professionally responsible behavior in the use of information technologies, particularly e-mail. Also attached are Information Technology Definitions.

Web, Technical and Application Standards

For Web Development and Publishing Standards, go to http://www.city/BIT/workgroup/policies/webpublishing.htm

For Technical Standards or Application Development Standards/Policies, go to http://www.city/BIT/workgroup/standards-policies.htm

E-mail Record Retention

With few exceptions, everything in government relating to the conduct of government or the performance of governmental functions, whether written, recorded, taped, or electronically stored is subject to public inspection. The City Code requires bureaus to retain records in conjunction with the Record Retention Schedule developed by the City Auditor’s Office. ORS 192.005 applies to electronic mail; the following guidelines should be followed for record retention of e-mail.

1.  Informal messages with no retention value and that do not relate to the functional responsibility of the recipient or sender, such as meeting notices, reminders, messages and informal notes should be deleted once their administrative purpose is served.

2.  All other messages used in connection with the transaction of governmental business constitute a public record and are subject to public inspection and copying. Users should print out a copy of the record and file for keeping according to the City’s Record Retention Schedule.

When e-mail records are filed as part of the documentation supporting a bureau program or function, they have the same retention as the records they are filed with. Typically, e-mail messages pertain to a bureau function or program, and they should be filed with the records supporting the program or function. Bureau retention schedules identify "correspondence", and set a retention time for the same period as the program or functional series to which the correspondence relates. E-mail messages may be filed as one of the other correspondence categories from the general schedule only when they do not relate directly or obviously to a bureau program.

Documents or records enclosed with, or attached to, e-mail messages need to be filed according to their function and content. These records will have the same retention as the records with which they are filed.

City and bureau systems administrator are responsible for providing access to electronic public records when directed by management, pursuant to public records inspection requests.

See the Administrative Rule on Public Records Information, Access and Retention.

Contact Information

Technical questions regarding the use of information technologies should be directed to the Bureau of Information Technologies. Any human resources related issues should be directed to Site Team Managers.

The attached definitions are not part of the binding Human Resources Administrative Rules.

Administrative Rule History

Adopted by Council March 6, 2002

Effective April 5, 2002