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Employee Handbook Date Last Revised: July 1, 2006 A. Confidentiality of Information B. Public Relations and Representation of Trinity College D. References and Other Information About Current and Former Employees E. Outside Employment and Conflicts of Interest H. Personal Use of College Services, Supplies, Equipment, or Facilities
All personnel of Trinity College are professionals who accept responsibilities inherent in employment with a value-centered learning institution that has a distinctive mission and tradition. Trinity expects all employees to respect and uphold the mission and values of the College, and to refrain from any activity that would demean or harm Trinity. The ethics of professionalism require loyalty to the institution and a willingness to participate in those tasks that advance the mission of the College and strengthen its ability to carry out that mission. Professional ethics also expect an employee to learn as much as possible about Trinity College, to pay attention to news and information about Trinity, to respect and help the students and faculty of Trinity who are engaged in Trinity's core work of teaching and learning, and to embrace the principle of honor that is a central value of Trinity's existence. A. Confidentiality of Information Employees have a general obligation of confidentiality about the information they manage on Trinity's behalf. Those employees who have access to the internal business affairs of the College, including student records, financial information, payroll and personnel information, gift records, alumnae records and all other information about the people and business affairs of Trinity have an obligation to treat that information as confidential and limited to the purposes for which the information is generated. Any employee who discloses confidential information to any person who does not have a right to the information, including other employees or students, may incur disciplinary action including termination. Trinity's general policies on the use of technology and telecommunications are embodied in that policy statement. Trinity recognizes that technology exposes information to access and dissemination in ways that may not be anticipated or controlled. If an employee finds that he or she has gained access to information that is not normally included in the scope of employment, that employee is expected to notify the appropriate supervisor and to take those steps that are appropriate to re-secure the information. Any misuse of information received by mistake, or any tampering with the computer and information system, falsification of passwords or other actions that obtain, or attempt to obtain, information without authorization will result in immediate termination. Each office that manages information is responsible to establish security protocols and access rules. The Office of Human Resources works with each major division of the College to train employees on information management, and to investigate breaches of information security.
B. Public Relations and Representation of Trinity College The Office of Public Relations handles all media inquiries and other informational inquiries about Trinity. From time to time, other offices also must respond to external information requests, and these are generally reviewed by the appropriate senior staff member prior to the release of information. Only the president or her designee may speak to the press or release information about Trinity College. No individual employee may speak for Trinity College in an external public forum without the knowledge and consent of the president or her designee. In the case of participation in panels or presentations for professional associations, such permission is easily obtained as part of the travel and expense approval process; in all cases the employee's supervisor should receive early notice of any invitation to an employee to speak or present at a public gathering. The supervisor has both the right and the obligation to review the nature of the request and the content of the presentation if it is being given in Trinity's name or if it uses Trinity's proprietary information.
All materials that a staff employee writes or creates as part of his or her work at Trinity College are the property of Trinity College and may not be reproduced or otherwise distributed in an external public forum without Trinity's permission. No staff employee may earn separate fees for the publication or use of materials generated as part of Trinity's work assignments without the knowledge and consent of Trinity. "Materials" in this context includes print, video, audio, electronic and all other media through which work product is available to a public audience. Trinity College considers all materials generated with its resources to be proprietary to Trinity, and no employee may transmit these materials for use by another institution or any third party without Trinity's explicit permission. Members of the staff enrolled in master's, doctoral or other degree programs who have a valid research plan that might entail some data collection at Trinity must obtain the formal approval of the president to conduct any and all studies using Trinity personnel or resources. Any such studies must also conform to the Institutional Review Board policies and processes as well. Trinity reserves the right to deny, suspend or change any such studies conducted on its premises, to deny publication rights, and to receive copies of any such research conducted with its permission and using its personnel and resources. Policies concerning faculty materials are contained in the Faculty Handbook and related policy statements issued through the vice president for academic affairs.
D. References and Other Information About Current and Former Employees The Office of Human Resources is the sole source of information or references for current or former employees. No employee may release information about another employee to a third party without the prior knowledge and approval of the director of Human Resources.
E. Outside Employment and Conflicts of Interest Full-time employees have a professional obligation to devote substantially all of their professional time to Trinity College. Full-time employees with other jobs, businesses and consulting practices must disclose the nature of those activities to Trinity in writing. The Office of Human Resources will issue additional directions for such disclosures. Employees must disclose any activity which conflicts with, or appears to conflict with, the interests of the College. The requirement of disclosure does not prohibit the activity, but Trinity reserves the right to instruct the employee to cease the activity if the College deems the conflict to be injurious to the College. The following list of examples of conflicts-of-interest is not exhaustive, and the College reserves the right to declare other activities to fall within the scope of this policy:
The following activities are generally prohibited activities that go beyond conflicts of interest to possible violation of ethical norms, and may be grounds for termination:
All employees of the College may exercise their rights as American citizens to vote as they choose, to express their opinions as private citizens, and to join political organizations. Such political activity should occur off-campus on the employee's own time. No employee may use the resources of Trinity College for any partisan political activity, including telephones, regular mail, email, space, mailing lists, photocopiers, etc. In compliance with federal lobbying regulations, employees of the College with responsibility for the administration of governmentally-funded programs or compliance with government regulations must be free from political influence in the impartial execution of laws and government programs. Because Trinity is a public charity regulated under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, the College specifically prohibits lobbying or partisan political activity on the part of any administrator or employee who has any responsibility, part or full, in the administering of any federally program. Certain federal regulations extend this prohibition to activities that might take place off-campus and on personal time. Questions about the applicability of this section may be directed to the vice president for finance and administration.
H. Personal Use of College Services, Supplies, Equipment, or Facilities Employees may not use College supplies, equipment or facilities for personal use. Examples of items covered by this policy include, but are not limited to:
Employees who are also students in Trinity's programs may not use office equipment to prepare papers or conduct research during business hours. The use of equipment for academic purposes after regular business hours must be approved by the Director of Human Resources. No employee may contract with another employee to do personal work of any variety. Such work might include typing papers, providing home repair services, or providing transportation services. In highly unusual circumstances, Trinity may grant an exception to this policy after the nature of the work sought is disclosed to the Director of Human Resources. Trinity does not host private parties on its fields or in its facilities, except wedding receptions that immediately follow weddings in Notre Dame Chapel. Employees who wish to make wedding reservations may do so through the Conference Office. No employee may remove for personal purposes any items of tangible property belonging to Trinity, including property that appears to be damaged or discarded. All property, including discarded items, belong to Trinity College, and removal of such items without permission constitutes theft and will incur personnel action, and possible legal action.
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