Page 59 - Footprint Employee Handbook 2021
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Any Footprint user found to have violated any policy, standard or procedure may be subject to disciplinary action, up
to and including termination of employment. Violators of local, state, Federal, and/or international law will be reported
to the appropriate law enforcement agency for civil and/or criminal prosecution.
Exceptions
While every exception to a policy or standard potentially weakens protection mechanisms for Footprint information
systems and underlying data, occasionally exceptions will exist. All out of policy exceptions are to be referred to
Human Resources for review.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
CONFIDENTIALITY OF COMPANY INFORMATION
It is the responsibility of all Footprint employees to safeguard the sensitive Company and client information described
below. The nature of our business and the economic well-being of our Company are dependent upon protecting and
maintaining proprietary Company information, even after separation of employment.
The Company’s confidential and proprietary information includes, but is not limited, to the following its trade secrets
or confidential information relating to products, processes, know-how, customers, designs, drawings, formulas, test
data, marketing data, accounting, pricing information, business plans and strategies, negotiations and contracts,
inventions, and discoveries. All such information shall be appropriately marked or verbally identified to each
employee.
No information, including without limitation, documents, notes, files, records, oral information, computer files or
similar materials (except in the ordinary course of performing duties on behalf of Footprint) may be removed from
Company premises without appropriate authorization. Employees may not disclose any of the confidential and
proprietary information described above, purposefully, or inadvertently through casual conversation, to any
unauthorized person inside or outside the Company. Confidential information should only be disclosed and/or
discussed on a ‘need to know’ basis. Continued employment with the Company is contingent upon compliance with
this policy. Upon termination of your employment, you must immediately return all of the Company’s confidential and
proprietary information, whether in hard copy or electronic format.
Employees shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any U.S. Federal or State trade secret law for the
disclosure of a trade secret that is made (i)(a) in confidence to a U.S. Federal, State or local government official,
either directly or indirectly, or to an attorney, and (b) solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected
violation of law; or (ii) is made in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is
made under seal. If an employee files a lawsuit against the Company for retaliation by the Company for reporting
by an employee of a suspected violation of law, the employee may disclose the trade secret to the employee’s
attorney and use the trade secret information in the court proceeding, if the employee (a) files any document
containing the trade secret under seal; and (b) does not disclose the trade secret, except pursuant to court order.
BEST PRACTICES
In order to ensure that Footprint Intellectual Property (“IP”) is properly safeguarded, it is necessary for all employees
to be aware and follow specific practices. Below is a list of actions that will help avoid unauthorized dissemination of
Company IP:
• Mark documents as confidential- Employees should watermark all Company-related information with
“Footprint- Confidential.” Documents include, but are not limited to, e-mails, word files, spreadsheets,
presentations, design files and other correspondence.
• Use Footprint email only- No Company information should be sent via personal e-mails or other non-Footprint
accounts.
• Printing/ Disposal- Remember to print only when needed and ensure that disposed Company information is
shredded rather than thrown in general trash.
• Secure information- If an employee does decide to print, he/she needs to ensure that the material is secured
when not in use. If the documents are needed overnight, the material should be secured. Manners in which
files can be secured include locked offices, drawers, and cabinets. Also, sensitive material should always be
stored out of view. Please see the Human Resources Department if you need to procure a locking enclosure.
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