Re: Does anyone ask individuals to reimburse the cost of lost laptops?

[Jerry Sell <Jerry_Sell () BYU EDU>]

I think there are two issues to consider here. First, to be legally sound, you must have some kind of signed form 
stating that the employee knows they will be charged for lost or damaged equipment.

Secondly, the proof that negligence was involved must be solid and may be hard to obtain.

I think that a better solution may be to make the process of obtaining a replacement as painful as possible. I also 
agree that the more important question is what data has been lost. This can be far more damaging than the loss of the 
purchase price of a laptop.

Thank you,

Jerry Sell, CISSP
Security Analyst
Brigham Young University
(801)422-2730
Jerry_Sell () byu edu
 


-----Original Message-----
From: The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] On Behalf Of Ed Nila
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 2:20 PM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
Subject: Re: [SECURITY] Does anyone ask individuals to reimburse the cost of lost laptops?

Adam,

We first require that any employee issued equipment sign a release form
acknowledging that the equipment is in good working order and also
accepts responsibility for the equipment.

This form also includes a paragraph that states that if the equipment is
lost, stolen or damaged in any way while in the possession of that
individual his/her department will be charged back for replacement costs
and/or repair costs 

Ed

-----Original Message-----
From: The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv
[mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] On Behalf Of Adam Stone
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 12:20 PM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
Subject: [SECURITY] Does anyone ask individuals to reimburse the cost of
lost laptops?

I know this is an odd question (sort of a property management
question), but we are being asked to evaluate this policy and I was
curious if any comparable R&E institution has such a policy.

Do any of your organizations ask employees to reimburse the
institution for the cost of a lost/stolen laptop if negligence appears
to be involved in the loss?  (Of course one person's negligence is
another's mistake).

My assumption is no, but I would like to hear from anyone who does (or
has a variation on such a policy).


FWIW: My own perspective is that punishing people for taking
productivity devices with them so they can be productive is likely
counterproductive, but I'm trying to respond to others who think this
is a good idea...


Thanks in advance,
as


-------------------------------------------------------------
Adam Stone, PhD
Policy, Assurance, and Risk Management, Office of the CIO
Berkeley Lab, University of California
510.486.4650(o) 510.593.7507(c) http://www.lbl.gov/CIO/Policy/