Safeguarding our resources
Safeguarding our resources
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Company resources are entrusted to us so we can do our jobs and meet our work-related goals. In return, FedEx relies on us to use those resources properly. We are responsible for protecting FedEx assets, including financial and physical assets, intellectual property, and confidential information. We have a duty to report actual or suspected fraud, misuse, theft, damage, and loss of FedEx resources. The same obligation applies to customer property and the property entrusted to us by other parties.
Always exercise good judgment when using FedEx resources. Minimal personal use of certain FedEx resources (like laptops and smartphones) is generally permitted if it does not interfere with your job duties or negatively impact device or network security or resources.
What you’ll find on this page:
Protect intellectual property
We must act with care to protect FedEx intellectual property. Intellectual property refers to a broad category of intangible assets. Some, like patents, copyrights, logos, trademarks, software, and public disclosures, are publicly available but may only be used in certain ways. Other intellectual property, like trade secrets, business strategies, sales plans, and “know-how,” are typically internal and are sensitive or confidential.
Our intellectual property contributes to our competitive advantage. To keep the value of our intellectual property, we must protect it and ensure it is used properly. Safeguard our intellectual property just like you protect our other assets.
We also must respect and protect the intellectual property entrusted to us by customers, suppliers, and other third parties. For example, we must not misappropriate or reproduce copyrighted material without the owner’s permission. Similarly, we distribute software only as allowed by the related license agreements. Any use of open-source software must be preapproved by our information security department. We may not download and store unlicensed or illegal copies of software or content.
Responsibly use company assets
There are a couple of specialized tools at work that I need to borrow to use at home. Is it okay to take them as long as I bring them back the next day?
No. You can’t borrow FedEx tools or other FedEx property for personal use at home. It is important that FedEx property remain where it can be used for FedEx purposes. Even when working on site with FedEx tools or resources, it is important to remember that those materials are provided so we can do our work and not for our personal use or convenience.
I have personal files and emails on my FedEx laptop. Does FedEx have access to them?
We each have limited expectations for privacy when using FedEx equipment and networks. Where allowed by law and following our policies, FedEx may retrieve and review your FedEx laptop, tablet, and smartphone, and any information stored on FedEx servers, including all emails, text messages, and internet browsing, as reasonably necessary to accomplish the purposes set out in those policies.
Protect confidential information
We must all do our part to protect FedEx confidential information. Confidential information is any nonpublic information about FedEx business, team members, customers, or suppliers. Confidential information includes business plans, pricing, costs, and internal financial information. It also includes personal data, research and development, technology, marketing plans, and any other competitive information.
We must use confidential information appropriately. We may disclose it to other FedEx team members or third parties only if they have a legitimate, business-related need to know. Even team members who leave FedEx are bound to safeguard FedEx confidential information after they depart. Similarly, you must not bring confidential information from any prior employers to your work at FedEx.
Our Code in action
How can I keep FedEx information safe when I work on my laptop at a cafe or in an airport?
When you are working in a public location, be aware that others may be able to see your screen. Don’t open confidential materials where others may see them. Only connect to protected Wi-Fi networks you know and trust. Avoid using open access points, such as at cafes or airports, and always use a VPN with public Wi-Fi.
To help protect confidential information:
- Be careful when discussing confidential information in public places where conversations may be overheard, such as restaurants, public transportation, or elevators
- Keep your laptop, tablet, and smartphone locked and passwords secure
- Avoid reading documents with confidential information in public places, such as airplanes or trains, and do not discard them where others can retrieve them
- Do not leave your laptop unattended in unsecure places, such as a parked car, conference center, or cafe
Safeguard data
FedEx is committed to safeguarding the privacy of personal information put into our care by our team members, customers, and other third parties. Personal data is any data that can be used directly or indirectly to identify a specific person, such as name, address, social security number, email address, or telephone number.
We follow all applicable laws and regulations about the collection, use, transfer, and disclosure of personal data, including provisions about fair and legitimate use, purpose specification, collection limitation, deletion, data quality, security safeguards, and transparency.
We have implemented robust procedures to protect personal data from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, and disclosure. If you discover or suspect a data security incident, a cyberattack, or a possible breach of personal data, immediately notify your manager, the legal department, and the information security team. Act quickly to prevent more harm.
Our Code in action
Someone called me about a misdelivered package. They have the tracking number but are asking me for other information about the actual recipient, like their name and address. Can I give them that information since they have the tracking number?
No. Providing the caller with another recipient’s personal data may violate FedEx policy and may violate data privacy laws.
Maintain information security
We must protect customer, employee, and company information and resources. We support information security by keeping corporate information confidential regardless of how it is created, distributed, stored, or discarded. We should only access the information, resources, and locations necessary to do our work.
We must limit personal use of FedEx resources so as not to impact the business or compromise security. We also must manage FedEx hardware, software, and mobile devices as directed. Replacing or refreshing these assets when required will ensure up-to-date security measures are in place.
Contact dataprivacy@fedex.com for privacy-related requests.
Other resources:
Do not trade on insider information
It is illegal to trade in a company’s securities while in possession of material, nonpublic information relating to that company. Some FedEx team members may have access to highly confidential information belonging to FedEx or another company, such as a major customer or supplier, which could affect the stock price if made public. Such information is called “material inside information.” We must be careful to protect material inside information and never use it for personal gain.
Before material inside information becomes public, we may not disclose it to anyone who does not have a business need to know it, including family and friends. We also may not trade, directly or indirectly, in securities of companies that are the subject of the information. This means we can’t make trades ourselves, and we also may not advise our friends or family or anyone else to trade, even if we withhold details.
Keep accurate business records
FedEx generates a large amount of electronic and paper documents every day. All team members are involved with creating and keeping FedEx records. We must all ensure FedEx records are accurate, truthful, complete, reliable, and secure. Our records must be an honest representation of facts and should never include false or misleading information.
We are committed to providing full, fair, accurate, and timely disclosures in our public communications and in the reports we file with government authorities, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Business records should be kept and disposed of properly, based on applicable recordkeeping requirements, laws, and business needs. Do not destroy any FedEx record that you are required to keep.
Regularly check your applicable record retention schedules to ensure compliance. Never alter or destroy a record if you have been notified by the legal department that it may be needed for a pending lawsuit or a government investigation.
Fight external and internal fraud
We are committed to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse from FedEx accounts and maintaining the accuracy of FedEx accounting records. We require open, honest, and fair dealing with each other and our customers, suppliers, and competitors. We must follow the FedEx system of accounting and internal controls to ensure that FedEx accounts are correct and used only for legitimate business expenses or expense reimbursement.
All FedEx financial transactions, big or small, should be properly documented. Unrecorded or “off-the-books” funds or assets are prohibited. Recording false, misleading, or incomplete information impairs our ability to make good decisions, undermines trust in FedEx, and may be illegal.
We must ensure that only authorized people execute transactions on behalf of FedEx or have access to FedEx assets or systems.
Other resources:
If you become aware of financial fraud or questionable accounting, internal controls, or auditing related to FedEx, you must report it. Examples of these problems include:
- Fraud or deliberate error in preparing or auditing any FedEx financial statement
- Fraud or deliberate error in recording and keeping FedEx financial records
- Noncompliance with FedEx internal accounting controls
- A false statement about a matter contained in FedEx financial records, financial reports, or audit reports
- Withholding of information that would provide a full and fair report of the financial condition of FedEx
- Fraud in possession or use of company or customer resources
This type of report should be made to the FedEx Alert Line or the FedEx Corporation General Counsel