Research News

Employees And The Internet:
Is Your County Surfing In Shallow Water?

The Internet is a global network of computers that supports the exchange of vast amounts of information. Access to this "information highway" has become more prevalent in homes, schools, businesses and in all levels of government. Although access to the Internet is becoming more commonplace, policies concerning the use of the Internet are not.

In 1996, a survey of 494 human resource and employee relations executives representing a cross-section of U.S. employers, both public and private, conducted by the Bureau of National Affairs and the Society for Human Resource Management, revealed that only 10 percent of the surveyed establishments had formal, written Internet policies. A recent survey by NACo of 167 representative counties revealed similar results. Only 24 percent of the counties have policies regarding employee use of the Internet.

Internet policies are developed for several reasons. The objective of Weld County's (Colo.) Internet policy is to "minimize the risks to business functions and government owned assets, and to assure adherence to regulatory and legal requirements and enterprise policies when county resources are used to access public networks."

Many counties acknowledge that Internet access can provide significant business benefits for county agencies and improve customer service. At the same time, they also recognize that there are significant legal, security and productivity issues related to how the Internet is used. A sampling of these issues include:

• the potential to receive computer viruses from the Internet;
• the potential for an employee, through the content of their Internet exchanges, to impugn the reputation of local government officials and thereby invite civil liabilities; and
• the potential for employees to spend significant amounts of work time using the Internet for non-work related activities.

In an effort to address these issues, some counties have developed Internet policies, which clearly define the roles and responsibilities of employees who have access to the Internet. These policies clearly state that access to the Internet is a privilege, that can be taken away for abusing or breaking the rules.

Outagamie County, Wis. has a comprehensive employee Internet policy. Policies regarding the general use of the Internet and Internet e-mail, Internet etiquette, security and personal security, and legal and network issues are clearly stated in a point by point format. The county also requires its employees to sign an "Acceptable Use Agreement Release Form." By signing this release form, employees have stated that they have read, understood and agreed to abide by the Internet policies. This release also indicates that any violation of these policies could result in not only having their Internet access revoked, but further disciplinary actions and legal actions may be taken against them.

Internet policies also cover the use of Internet e-mail. Eaton County's (Mich.) Internet use policy clearly states that all electronic mail or other types of communication over the Internet is public, not private. As such, the county reserves the right to audit employee use of the Internet, which "shall include monitoring incoming and outgoing communications, Internet sites visited, information sent, received or printed, and the dates and times of use." Similarly, Weld County's policy clearly states that all county e-mail is public record and may be subject to public inspection. Although Outagamie County recognizes that e-mail is public information, the policy states that the county will not intentionally inspect or disclose the contents of e-mail unless required to do so by local, state or federal officials or by county policies.

NACo would like to share your county's Internet policy with other counties nationwide. Policies can be mailed to the Research Division, c/o NACo, 440 First St. NW; Washington, DC, 20001, or faxed to: 202/737-0480.

(Research News was written by Peggy Beardslee, research assistant.)