These privacy policies and procedures implement our obligation to protect the
“non-public personal information” that we create, receive or maintain
on consumers or customers.
- No use or disclosure: Our office will not use
or disclose non-public personal information except as these Privacy Policies
and Procedures or our annual privacy practices notice permit, require or
as permitted by law.
- Medical Information Privacy: Our office will
not disclose or share medical or other specified information at any time
as defined in CIC Section 791.13(k) without an expressed written consent
from the consumer or customer.
A consumer or customer may at any time revoke their consent to disclose
or share information by written notice. The revocation shall be placed in
the consumer’s or customer’s file and notations made in any
electronic records.
- Exemption to Consent: Our office may disclose
or share non-public personal information without express notice or consent
in the course of performing a transaction authorized by the consumer or
customer or as permitted in CIC Section 791.13.
- Notice of Privacy Procedures: Our office will
provide an initial and annual Privacy Practices Notice to each customer
as required by CIC Section 791 and Title 10 California Code of Regulations
Sections 2689.1 to 2689.24 and to all consumers before disclosure of any
non-public personal information to non-affiliated third parties. We will
promptly revise our Privacy Practices Notice when there is a material change
to our use or disclosure of non-public personal information, legal duties,
consumers’ or customers’ rights or to other privacy practices
that render the statements in that notice no longer accurate.
The notices are available upon request.
- Distribution of Our Notice: Each customer will
receive his or her initial privacy practices notice from this office no
later than the delivery of service. Each customer will receive a notice
annually on a date established by us, which reflects our current privacy
practices. This annual privacy notice supercedes all prior initial or annual
notices.
- Minimum Necessary Disclosure: Our office will
make reasonable efforts to protect consumer/customer privacy by disclosing
or sharing the minimum necessary non-public personal information to accomplish
the intended function, transaction, or service.
- Customer or Consumer Rights: Our office will
honor customers and consumer’s rights regarding their non-public personal
information.
- Access: Our office will honor requests in writing to view
and copy customer or consumer records that are reasonably identified,
reasonably locatable and retrievable. We will, within 30 days of receipt
of the request, contact the customer or consumer and inform them of
the nature and substance of the recorded information and make arrangements
for them to view the information and make copies for them for which
we will charge 15¢ per page plus $15.00 per hour for staff time.
We will also disclose to the individual the identities of those persons
with whom we have shared or disclosed the customers/consumers non-public
personal information.
- Amendments: Customers or consumers have the right to request
an amendment, correction or deletion to their non-public personal information
held by us. Our office will, within 30 days of such request, inform
the customer or consumer of our decision to amend, correct, or delete
or our decision to not amend, correct or delete. If we decide to amend,
correct or delete, we will notify the customer or consumer in writing
and will additionally notify those persons to whom we shared or disclosed
the original information.
If we decide not to make any changes, the customer or consumer has a
right to submit in writing a concise statement setting forth what the
customer or consumer thinks is the correct, relevant or fair information
and why they disagree with our refusal to amend, correct, or delete
non-public personal information in their file. Our office will put this
statement in the customer’s/consumer’s file. In the future
if we share or disclose any non-public personal information from the
file, we will also furnish a copy of the customers/consumers request
to amend, correct, delete, our letter informing them of our decision
and their response.
The rights granted in this section do not extend to information about
the customer or consumer that relates to and is collected in connection
with or in reasonable anticipation of a claim or civil or criminal proceeding
involving them.
- Privacy Officer: Our office will designate one
person to be the privacy officer. He or she will have primary responsibility
for privacy and security issues. He or she will also be the contact for
all complaints involving privacy or security matters. The designated privacy
officer is the President and Chief Executive Officer.
- Staff Training: Our office will train all members
of our workforce on these Privacy Policies and Procedures, as needed and
appropriate for them to carry out their functions. All members of our workforce
will acknowledge in writing within a reasonable time of employment their
receipt and training on these Privacy Policies and Procedures.
- Data Safeguards: Our office will develop, implement,
annually review and maintain reasonable and appropriate administrative,
technical and physical safeguards to ensure the integrity and confidentially
of the non-public personal information we hold and maintain.
- Physical Access: Our office will monitor and ensure that during
normal business hours, no person is unescorted or unmonitored within
the office unless they are an employee or a business associate with
whom we have a contract that appropriately limits their use and disclosure
of non-public personal information held or maintained by this office.
Our office will identify, monitor and control who is authorized to posses
and who possesses keys or the necessary codes for securing and entering
the office. Upon any termination of employment, keys will be collected
and codes changed to maintain the security of the office.
- Business Associates: Our office will obtain a written contract
from all non-affiliated third parties who will have access to or receive
non-public personal information in the course of their duties for us.
This contract will provide for appropriate safeguards and limit their
use and disclosure of the non-public personal information we share or
disclose to them.
- Physical Data: Our office will secure all physical data that
contains non-public personal information. All files not in use will
be filed. No files will be left out of the filing containers overnight.
All file containers will be secured when the office is closed or not
occupied.
- Electronic Data: Our office will provide controls on access
to and authentication of persons using electronic data. Our office will
install, maintain, and update necessary virus protection, firewall protection,
and software updates as needed.
All employees who must have access to electronic data will have their
own unique user ID and unique password. These will be controlled and
changed periodically by the Privacy Officer as needed for employee terminations,
updates, new software, etc.
Our office will ensure that floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, zip drives, hard
drives, electronic tapes, off-site storage, and similar items are included
in the access and authentication procedures. We will ensure that the
intentional destruction of data is done using a secure method.
- Employee training: Our office will provide annual training
on the Privacy Policies and Procedures for protecting the electronic
data or form of non-public personal information we hold or maintain.
We will document the time, date, persons in attendance, and subjects
covered.
- Annual Security Assessment: Our office will do
an annual Privacy and Security Gap Assessment to ensure these policies and
procedures are being performed and working as intended. Our Privacy Officer
will initiate the assessment.