Rules of Conduct for University Employees Involved with Information Regarding Individuals

In June of 2015, the Office of the President set forth the following seven rules of conduct for all employees that handle information regarding individuals:

  1. Employees responsible for the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of information about individuals which relates to their personal life, including their employment and medical history, financial transactions, marital status and dependents, shall comply with the provisions of the State of California Information Practices Act.
  2. Employees shall not require individuals to disclose personal or confidential information about themselves which is not necessary and relevant to the purposes of the University or to the particular function for which the employee is responsible.
  3. Employees shall make every reasonable effort to see that inquiries and requests by individuals for their personal or confidential records are responded to quickly, courteously, and without requiring the requester to repeat the inquiry to others unnecessarily.
  4. Employees shall assist individuals who seek information pertaining to themselves in making their inquiries sufficiently specific and descriptive so as to facilitate locating the records.
  5. Employees shall not disclose personal or confidential information relating to individuals to unauthorized persons or entities. The intentional disclosure of such information to such persons or agencies may be cause for disciplinary action.
  6. Employees shall not seek out or use personal or confidential information relating to others for their own interest or advantage. The intentional violation of this rule may be cause for disciplinary action.
  7. Employees responsible for the maintenance of personal and confidential records shall take all necessary precautions to assure that proper administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are established and followed in order to protect the confidentiality of records containing personal or confidential information.