Misuse of government computers and phones

Government property — like your computer or phone — is assigned for your official use but doesn’t belong to you. You can only use it as required by your postal duties. Minimal personal use is acceptable, provided:

• Your productivity isn’t adversely affected.
• It doesn’t interfere with the mission or operations of the Postal Service.
• Time and size are limited — there’s only minimal wear and tear on equipment, only a small amount of data or transmission is impacted, and only small amounts of consumable office products like computer memory or toner are used.
• You don’t violate any other law or regulation, including the Standards for Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch. See 5 CFR §2635.

When you preserve government property for its intended use, you show our customers that we won’t abuse their trust for our personal gain.

And that’s smart business.

Contact the Ethics Office (ethics.help@usps.gov) for guidance.