Using State Fund Resources
State Fund resources, including time, material, equipment, and information, are for State Fund business use. You are trusted to behave responsibly and use good judgement to conserve and protect company resources. Managers are responsible for their department’s resources and should resolve issues about their proper use. If you have questions about the proper use of State Fund resources, go to management or Employee Relations.
“I exercise good judgement when using State Fund resources, such as supplies, computers, telephones, internet access, and printers, and am committed to guarding against waste and abuse.”
Using State Fund Information Systems
State Fund’s Annual Proprietary System Notice and Acknowledgement provides you guidance on how to use State Fund electronic information systems. Each year, you must acknowledge this notice.
Our information systems include:
- Computer equipment,
- Internet,
- Email,
- Computer software,
- Data,
- Databases,
- Electronic files,
- Telephones,
- Voice mail,
- Fax machines,
- Wireless devices, and
- Any other similar information technologies that State Fund currently uses or may use in the future.
Apart from minimal and incidental use permitted by law, contract, or specific management exception, you must use State Fund systems exclusively to conduct State Fund business.
State Fund may monitor its systems. You should not expect privacy regarding use, including personal use of State Fund Information Systems.
You also have a duty to protect personal and confidential information about our Workforce, policyholders, claimants, and third parties. You must not access or use confidential information available to you due to your work at State Fund for personal gain.
I would like to respond to a lunch invitation from a friend at a different company. Can I use the State Fund email system in this instance?
Yes, if the invitation does not contain personal information. Your response would be considered minimal and incidental use.
Protecting and Respecting Information
The California Constitution says every person has an inalienable right to privacy. Because we process and use personal information in our work every day, you have the daily responsibility to think about privacy and information security.
You are entrusted to protect personal information that we own, maintain, or send to others in our daily work. Protecting information also means collecting or sending out only the personal information needed for doing business. Our obligation extends to personal information we send to vendors and other third parties who help us conduct business.
What is Personal Information?
Personal information in California is any information that identifies, relates to, describes, or is capable of being associated with a particular person, including but not limited to:
- The person’s name,
- Signature,
- Social security number,
- Physical characteristics or description,
- Address,
- Telephone number,
- Passport number, driver’s license number, or state identification card number,
- Financial account numbers or any other financial information,
- Medical information,
- Health insurance information,
- Insurance policy or claim number, and
- Education, employment, or employment history.
Personal information does not include:
- Publicly available information lawfully made available to the general public from federal, state, or local government records.
Only access, give out, or discuss personal information if you have an authorized business reason to do so. You must also have effective consent/authorization from the subject of the information. Preventing unauthorized release of personal information helps protect State Fund and our stakeholders.
A former State Fund co-worker called and asked me to look up his friend’s claim and provide him the status on it. The former co-worker now works for another insurance company and is not part of the friend’s claim. Should I provide the information?
No. Releasing claim information to a third-party without permission from the individual is against the law.
Before you release any personal information, you must:
Verify
Verify who the requestor is and…
Confirm
Confirm the requestor is authorized to get that information and…
Follow
Follow State Fund’s procedures for releasing information.
You are accountable to restrict release of personal information to authorized individuals under California and Federal laws and State Fund’s Policies.
If you have questions or uncertainty as to whether 1) the requestor has the right to the information or 2) State Fund is authorized to release the information to the requestor, you should contact the Privacy Office.
To report a suspected privacy incident, contact the Privacy Office directly by calling (888) 724-3237 or emailing to PrivacyOffice@scif.com. You may also raise your concerns anonymously by calling the Privacy Hotline toll-free anytime at (888) 254-4301 or online. We will provide you with a “safe landing spot” if you wish to report incidents or raise questions or concerns.
The Privacy Office provides you with resources for privacy protection.
Can I take my State Fund electronic equipment out of the country?
Generally, no. You must obtain executive approval before taking any State Fund electronic equipment out of the country.
Respecting the Works of State Fund and Others
State Fund protects its trade secrets and proprietary information up to the maximum extent allowed by law. State Fund does not infringe on the copyright interests, trademarks, or patented works (processes, machinery, or designs) of third parties.
Copyright is:
An exclusive right
An exclusive right of ownership to an original creative work by its author, including the right to display, perform, distribute, and make copies of the work.
The right of the owner
The right of the owner to protect their work from unauthorized or unlicensed use.
Protected
Protected by the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Copyright Law.
Works are automatically copyrighted whether or not the author registers the copyright or whether the work bears the word “copyright” or the “©” symbol.
Before you use or send another’s material or images that may be copyrighted, trademarked, or patented, contact the Governance department at Copyright@scif.com to make sure you have the permission to do so.
The Copyright Office can answer your questions regarding copyrights and other intellectual property and help you obtain any licenses you need in order to lawfully use the creative works of others.