Memorandum

To:      Board of Directors

From: HR

Date:   10/9/17

Re:      Corporate code of conduct and privacy policy

Employee Surveillance Policy

Purpose/ Reason for Policy

The Employee Surveillance Policy is meant to cure the mischief of improper utility of company’s time and resources as well as negligent communication concerning the company’s classified information. Employee surveillance will be incorporated in the company. ComPo designs and manufactures components used in mobile phones and towards that end there are a lot of private as well as patented information that ought to remain confidential. Such information should not be negligently passed to other third parties since it will potentially amount to heavy liabilities for the company. Indeed many are times when corporations have had to grapple with heavy liabilities because of employee use of electronic resources as well as mismanagement of company’s time and resources. To mitigate the risk of such liability, ComPo has instituted the Employee Surveillance Policy.

Scope of this Policy

Employee surveillance will be in the form of computer and workstation monitoring, email monitoring and telephone monitoring. Employee surveillance will be used for purposes relating to ensuring the proper usage of time and resources of the company as well as foster responsible communication between the company employees and other third parties. In furtherance of these purposes, workstation monitoring in particular (through the use of CCTV cameras) will be used in the exterior and interior areas of ComPo property where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. This form of surveillance does not extend to ComPo owned properties that have been leased to a tenant.

This policy has been created in accordance with the guidelines for incorporating employee surveillance as laid out in federal legislation; particularly the Employee Monitoring and Workplace Privacy Law which delineates the obligations imposed on corporations with regard to the protection of privacy interests of employees.

Policy Statement

Employee surveillance through computer and workstation monitoring, email monitoring and telephone monitoring ought to be conducted in an ethical, professional and legal manner in accordance with the following principles;

  1. Employee surveillance is to be conducted according to the state and federal laws; particularly the Employee Monitoring and Workplace Privacy Law.
  2. Such surveillance will only be used where it is demonstrably necessary for the purpose of tracking the usage of time and resources of the company and fostering responsible communication between company employees and third parties.
  3. Appropriate signs and notice of surveillance are to be posted in the subject areas.
  4. Management and human resource personnel who may need to access information collected through employee surveillance will be supplied to the proper training with regard to this policy and the obligations that accrue to them by dint of the respective legislations and particularly the Employee Monitoring and Workplace Privacy Law.
  5. The employee surveillance system will be subject to periodic audits.
  6. All mediums used in recording employee surveillance information are to be handled in a manner that maintains the security and integrity of the recorded information.

Private corporations have the legal right to conduct employee surveillance as outlined statutorily and in stare decisis.

Anti- Corruption and Anti- Bribery Policy

Purpose/ Reason for this Policy

ComPo together with its subsidiaries is committed to conducting the business in strict compliance with applicable federal and state laws. The company is committed to operating in an ethical, integral, professional and legal manner and this commitment is hereby set forth in the company’s code of conduct.

The objective of this Anti- Corruption and Anti- Bribery Policy is to ensure that the company’s standard of integrity is assured and maintained not only within the U.S. but also in the course of interaction with foreign nationals.

Scope of this Policy

This policy applies to all employees of the company not only in the U.S. but also in China, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Policy Statement

  1. ComPo has “zero-tolerance” to corruption and bribery and is committed to conducting all its operations in a legal, ethical, integral and professional manner in accordance with the respective federal laws including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) as well as the municipal laws in China, Malaysia and Vietnam.
  2. ComPo prohibits all its employees that operate in the United States as well as those that work in the factories in China, Malaysia and Vietnam from engaging in bribery and corruption.
  3. Any employee who engages in the corruption or bribery will be held personally criminally liable for such conduct.
  4. ComPo recognizes that corruption and bribery is a criminal offence and as such our employees are mandated not to accept or give bribes in any degree.

Explanation to the Board

The policy uses the “zero-tolerance” language because a violation of the laid out anti-corruption laws can lead to heavy and civil penalties and this will be a liability for the company. ComPo is subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) which specifically prohibits U.S. corporations from paying bribes to foreign officials in furtherance of a business deal and against the foreign official’s duties. Punishment allowable within the Act include fines of up to double the amount of the benefit expected to be received as a result of the bribery and the individuals involved can additionally face imprisonment for up to five years (Gutterman, 2016). It is therefore better and more sustainable for the company to be on the side of caution when dealing with a foreign official or conducting operation outside the U.S. in the case of UNITED STATES –V- JOEL ESQUENAZI, et al., court Docket Number: 09-CR-21010-JEM, the former president of a United States telecommunications firm was found guilty for conspiring to pay $890,000 to shell companies for the purpose of bribing Haitian government officials in exchange for various business advantages including preferred telecommunications rates and continued telecommunication connections with Haiti (Gutterman, 2016). Esquenazi’s co-defendant received a seven year sentence and both sentences were upheld upon appeal in 2014 (Gutterman, 2016).

Additionally under the doctrine of vicarious liability, employers are usually held liable for the criminal acts of the employees, including acts of bribery if those acts are committed within the course o employment. In the case of Lloyd v Grace, Smith & Co [1912] UKHL 1[1912] AC 716 it was held that when an employee engages in fraudulent acts or omissions, in the cause of his employment or in the course of holding the office in question, the employer will be held liable. This doctrine essentially works under the presumption that the employee- employer relationship is in the nature of principal-agent. This means that unlike the Esquenazi case where the president of the corporation was held personally liable, in the case of ComPo the company may be held liable for acts of the officials by dint of the fact that its policies irregularly allow participation in corruption and bribery.

Besides the heavy civil and criminal penalties that attach to the participation in corruption and bribery it is important to appreciate the fact that corruption and bribery revolves around abuse of public power for private gain (Gutterman, 2016). Therefore apart from the legal implication, there exists the moral obligation of the company. Essentially corruption distorts markets, tempers with international flows of goods and capital and suppresses economic growth (Gutterman, 2016). This is inconsistent with the efforts of United States towards being at the forefront of international efforts to combat corruption in the global economy (Gutterman, 2016). It is important for the company to strive to maintain its standards even as they engage with foreign nationals.

Customer Information Policy

Purpose/ Reason for this Policy

As the company continues growing, the customers base increases and consequently the volume of customer information increases. The company aims at securing the customer information assets by incorporating a security strategy that will ensure the proper management of the robust customer information.

Scope of this Policy

This policy applies to all forms of customer information stored, used or processed by ComPo through its employees. The customer information stored includes but is not limited to paper records and information stored on electronic devices. The policy also covers all information systems owned or leased by the company.

Policy Statement

  1. In the handling of consumer data, ComPo will effectively conform to Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, (GLBA).
  2. The customer information system will be accessible when required by authorized users.
  3. The customer information assets must be effectively protected from unauthorized access, misuse as well as malicious or accidental loss or damage.
  4. The authorized users will be properly trained as they will be aware of will comply with statutorily underpinned guidelines as well as this policy.
  5. The customer information systems must meet the requirements of the relevant audits and statutory requirements.
  6. Officials in charge of the information systems must have an efficient disaster recovery plan in place.

References

Gutterman, E. (2016). Banning Bribes Abroad: U.S. Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. . Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series. 125. http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/olsrps/125

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