Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 27 - STATE PERSONNEL BOARD › Part 120 - Mississippi State Employee Handbook › Chapter 5 - STANDARDS OF EMPLOYEE CONDUCT › Section 27-120-5.13 - EMPLOYEE USE OF STATE PROPERTY

Current through June 25, 2024
State employees have no ownership rights in or control of
				  State property, which is defined to include all office space, space adjacent to
				  the workplace controlled by the State or State agency, furniture, fixtures,
				  equipment, and inventory including without limitation, all computer software,
				  databases, servers, computer hardware, discs, and information of any kind
				  contained in or recorded on physical or electronic data sources of any kind.
				  Employees are prohibited from using State property for personal use.
Wireless Communication Devices and Electronic
				  Communications
State employees may not directly or indirectly use or allow
				  the use of agency property of any kind, including property leased to an agency,
				  for other than officially approved activities. In addition, employees shall
				  protect and conserve agency property, including wireless communications
				  equipment. Wireless communications equipment includes cellular phones, personal
				  digital assistant devices, and standard and two-way pagers, as well as any
				  similar devices that perform some or all of these functions. Employees are
				  hereby notified that the agency will enforce this policy through a variety of
				  methods and may monitor use of wireless communications equipment to assure
				  compliance.
Wireless communication devices shall be used for legitimate
				  State business only. Use of an agency-provided cellular phone for personal
				  calls may result in appropriate disciplinary action and/or the loss of the use
				  of the phone. The agency may not reimburse employees for any charges on
				  personal wireless communication devices.
Employees should be aware that cellular phone transmissions
				  are not secure transmissions. Confidential information regarding official
				  business should be transmitted from a secure environment.
Storage of Information
All information, in any form, including written materials
				  that pertain to work at a State agency, should be stored on the computer or in
				  an employee's desk in accordance with dictated procedures so that other
				  employees or an employee's supervisor has access to it. Agency Information
				  Technology employees and agency supervisors may have passwords or other
				  information necessary to access an employee's voice mail and email, and
				  duplicate keys, if any, to all desks and file cabinets. Employees are
				  prohibited from locking desks or cabinets unless permitted by management or
				  altering equipment or programs to prohibit access.
Expectation of Privacy
State employees have no expectation of privacy in their work
				  premises. All State property, including an employee's workstation, all physical
				  storage areas and all electronic storage areas, including all software and data
				  on all computers, voicemail and email, are subject to access and inspection at
				  any time by management, other employees or third parties designated by
				  management.
Because agency management may access or inspect an employee's
				  work area at any time to find materials or obtain information, employees should
				  not store any personal documents or materials on or in State property.
Right to Search
The State reserves the right to conduct reasonable searches
				  on, in or of State property and on State premises including, at any time,
				  locked and unlocked areas, for any reason related to the operation of State
				  business. Consent by the employee is implied and lack of cooperation or refusal
				  to permit a search can result in immediate discipline, including
				  termination.
The State or an agency may conduct inspections or searches
				  for illegal drugs, weapons, explosives, contraband or other prohibited
				  materials on, around or in State property, at any time, without notice,
				  whenever there is a reasonable basis to believe that an employee may be in the
				  possession of such materials in violation of policy.
Inspections or searches for prohibited materials may be
				  conducted by any member of management, an independent person appointed by
				  management, law enforcement representatives, or by the State or an agency with
				  its own personnel.
The right to conduct routine searches of agency premises is
				  in addition to the right of an agency to access all State property without
				  requiring consent of the employee.
Personal Property
Employment or continued employment with the State constitutes
				  acknowledgement by employees that routine searches of State property might
				  result in the discovery of an employee's personal possessions or personal
				  information. Because the State or third parties will have access to all areas
				  of State property, employees are encouraged not to store or bring to the
				  workplace any personal property or to transmit or obtain the transmission of
				  personal information or messages using State-owned equipment.