Technology Devices Policy — full text

This is an automated transcription (OCR) of the captured official document — minor recognition errors are possible; the source document governs. Snapshot 367121ec62d9 · verified 2026-06-05 · original document · archived snapshot · unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.

## TOWN OF OXFORD POLICY DEPARTMENT: Council and All Departments TITLE: Technology Devices Policy Minutes reference date: 16 May 2022 ## PURPOSE: The Town of Oxford recognizes the role technology plays in providing municipal services and the need for technology to aid in efficiency and quick access to information is critically important. To allow staff to work together in an environment where learning, informed decision making and innovation are key, the Town of Oxford provides devices for some of its staff. Devices can be laptops, tablets, storage devices including external hard drives and USB drives, and/or cell phones. The purpose of this policy is to outline the acceptable use and care of these devices and the employee's role in ensuring municipal assets, information and network systems are protected. ## SCOPE: This policy applies to all Town of Oxford employees who are issued devices and applies to device use on and off municipal premises. This policy should be read in conjunction with the Information/Communication Technology Usage Policy. All employees who are issued a device will be asked to sign for receipt of the device and to acknowledge that they have read, understood, and will comply with this Policy and the Device Use Guidelines. ## DEFINITIONS: | Term | Definition | |--------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Municipal location | Any property owned by the Town of Oxford | | Off-Site | Any place that is not a Town of Oxford premise | | Device | Any technology device including laptops, tablets, cell phones, storage devices such as external hard drives and USB drives. | | IT | Information Technology, or also refers to the Information Technician in charge of setup and maintenance of devices. | Page 1 of 6 ## POLICY STATEMENT: To safeguard Town of Oxford assets, information and network systems/services, employees are responsible for the care and security of the device issued to them. Employees should take good care of the device and ensure that it is not damaged, lost or stolen. Employees will familiarize themselves with the Device Use Guidelines and direct any questions to the CAO, or person in charge of IT. To maintain security over the devices and a healthy work-life balance for our employees, it is the policy of the Town of Oxford that, unless in the cases outlined below, all devices should remain in the workplace. Being provided with a device does not imply that employees can use them outside of the workplace. Express permission to remove devices from the workplace must be received from the employee's supervisor or the CAO. It is the policy of the Town of Oxford that employees will act in accordance with the following: 1. Use of Devices Devices may be removed from the premises in the following circumstances: 2. 1.1. Staff are attending a meeting, training session, or gathering at a Municipal location where their device is required for training or operational purposes. 3. 1.2. Staff are required to work off-site at the direction of their supervisor or the CAO (offsite presentations, on-call, overtime, etc.). 4. 1.3. Staff are asked by their director to take their device to facilitate workflow in nonroutine circumstances (i.e., working from home for any length of time). Devices are not to be off premises during unpaid leave without express permission of the supervisor or the CAO and signing of the appropriate form where required. Otherwise, in all circumstances of an extended leave, the Town of Oxford may require the device to be returned prior to or during that leave. - 1.4 All Supervisors, the CAO, the Senior Accountant, and IT are exempt from this policy unless directed by the Town of Oxford Council. 2. Care of Devices Employees are responsible to ensure compliance with the following: - 2.1 Devices are only to be used for Town of Oxford use. Friends or family members shall not use devices. - 2.2 Devices shall never be checked as luggage at any airport. - 2.3 Devices shall never leave Canada without the express permission of the CAO to ensure compliance with the Government of Nova Scotia Bill No. 19 - Personal Information International Disclosure Protection Act (PIIDPA). - 2.4 Devices must be carried in a protective carrying case when leaving the workplace the device must be turned off and allowed to cool down properly before being placed in the carrying case. - 2.5 Devices must be protected from extreme temperatures, food, drink, and dirt (from hands or the environment) - employees will never clean the device with water or chemicals except those designed specifically for that purpose: and, - 2.6 All errors or unexpected operations with devices must be reported to IT, describing the error, conditions, or unexpected behaviors. - ** Due to warranty requirements, devices in need of cleaning or repair must be returned to IT unless other arrangements are arranged through IT. Staff must not attempt to repair any hardware or software faults under any circumstances unless directed by IT. ## 3. Security of Devices - 3.1 Devices shall never be left in an area where they are vulnerable to theft. - 3.2 Devices shall never be left in an unlocked vehicle, regardless of whether it is in a private driveway or garage. If it is necessary to leave the device in a vehicle, devices shall be locked in the trunk or, if there is no trunk, hidden from plain view and the vehicle shall be locked and parked in a location, where possible, to be visible to the driver. - 3.3 Employees shall only connect to trusted Wi-Fi connections and where possible users should notify IT when planning to connect through Wi-Fi outside of normal conditions (e.g. while traveling out of province). - 3.4 Devices shall never be left unattended in an unsecured area in the workplace. - 3.5 Devices must always be locked or powered off when unattended: and, - 3.6 Employees are not permitted to connect any equipment, e.g., personal printers, cameras, scanners, USB flash drives, cell phones etc. without the permission of IT unless those devices were supplied by the Town of Oxford. ## Lost or Stolen Devices: If a device is lost or stolen, immediate action should be taken to prevent loss of or malicious access to information and network resources by calling the CAO. The CAO will notify the policing service and provide asset tracking support with the assistance of IT. ## 4. Employees in Lay-off, Retired, or Leaving Employment of the Town of Oxford - When an employee leaves the employment of the Town of Oxford for any reason, the employee, unless otherwise permitted by the CAO, must return all devices to the CAO of the Town of Oxford upon their exit interview or leave. This allows the Town of Oxford to maintain the security, confidentiality, and integrity of the data contained on the devices, and the data of the Town of Oxford to maintain security and access to sites, applications, and locations the employee has had access to have continued workflow. All passwords, unlock codes, and security question answers for multi-authentication factor websites and apps are to be supplied with the device being returned. All adaptors, cases, accessories, and cables that were purchased by the Town of Oxford included with the device, must also be returned. Devices will be securely erased for reuse within the Town of Oxford when deemed ready. Where the devices are unviable for re-use, devices will be destroyed or made inoperable to prevent any level of wiping or formatting of hard drives from being reversed in any way. ## 5. Guidelines & Accountability In conjunction with this policy, a set of Device Use Guidelines will be maintained. These are subject to review and approval of the CAO. Staff may be required to sign a Device Agreement prior to being issued a device for Town of Oxford use. ## ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:  | Title/Role | Responsibilities | |-------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Supervisors | The Supervisors will: - Ensure this policy is being adhered to - Provide employees with adequate direction on when the device can leave the premise | | Employees | The Employees will: - Ensure this policy is adhered to - Protect the device issued to them | | Office Assistant or designate | - Review the policy on a yearly basis for relevancy and potential updates. - Maintain the Device Use Guidelines | | IT | IT will: - Repair and or replace faulty equipment - support the policing services investigation in the case of a stolen device where applicable | | CAO | The CAO will: - Notify the policing service and IT in the case of a stolen device - Ensure this policy is adhered to - Approve changes to the device use guidelines *This policy is subject to the approval of the CAO - Provide employees with adequate direction on when a device can leave the premises. | ## RELATED DOCUMENTATION: Page 6 of 6 | Document Name | Document Type | |----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------| | Information/Communication Technology Policy | Policy | | Device Agreement | Contract | | Device/Notebook Sign-out Form | Form | | Device Use Guidelines | Form | | Personal Information International Disclosure Protection Act (PIDPA) | Legislation | Hile lay, Linda Cloney, CAO Town of Oxford Dated: November 22, 2023