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Privacy

 

DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYEE TRUST FUNDS
WEB SITE PRIVACY POLICY

 

PRIVACY STATEMENT

The Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) maintains this Web site to provide benefits information and service to Wisconsin state and local government employees and employers. In order to operate this site, we collect information about how the Web site is used. The purpose of this privacy policy is to let you know what information we collect, why it is collected, how we use it, and the extent to which the information may be disclosed to third parties.

INFORMATION COLLECTED

We collect and analyze certain information in order to continually improve the value of the materials available on our site. The data in our Web site logs is not personally identifiable, and we make no attempt to link any data with individuals. When you browse or download information from our Web site, we collect and store the following information:

  1. Your Internet Protocol (IP) address or domain name;
  2. The date and time you visited our Web site; and
  3. The Web pages or services you accessed at this site.

    An IP address is a unique number assigned to your computer and is functionally similar to a street address or telephone number. A domain name is an IP address that has been converted into words. We count IP addresses and domain names to determine the number of visitors to each Web page, document or form during specific time periods. Analysis of the number of visitors to a page helps us to determine if we should continue to provide the information on the page in the future.

  4. The type of Web browser and computer operating system.

    Knowing the type of browser (for example, Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.) and computer operating system (for example, Windows 95/98/XP, Macintosh PowerPC, etc.) used to access our Web site helps us to configure our pages to display properly. Web pages do not always display the same on every type of browser and operating system and thus must be coded for appropriate access.

  5. The Web site you visited prior to coming to ETF’s site.

    We collect the name of the Web site you visited prior to coming to ETF’s Web site to determine the sites that provide the most referrals to our site, as well as to learn which search engines (for example, Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, etc.) are used most frequently to find ETF’s site. This information helps us to find effective ways to attract visitors and to properly structure our Web site to appear when you look for it using a search engine.

SECURITY

Any personally identifiable information obtained by ETF via this Web site is protected from public access from the Internet. It is only available to the public when it is appropriate for release pursuant to applicable state and federal laws.

We provide users of our Web site with a secure means to send electronic mail (e-mail) to ETF, using a fill-in form on the Web site at contact us. The form uses Secure Sockets Layers (SSL), the industry standard for securely transferring information on the Internet. If you send us a message using the form we have provided, all information in your message is encrypted, or scrambled, into a code as it is sent over the Internet. This means that your message cannot be read by anyone other than us. However, if you send us an e-mail message using another means, such as AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo, or other e-mail client, your message may not be protected from being read by a third party before the message reaches ETF.

PERSONAL INFORMATION AND CHOICE

"Personal information" is information about an individual that is readily identifiable to that specific individual. Personal information includes personal identifiers such as an individual's name, address, phone number, drivers license number and Social Security number.

A domain name or IP address is not considered personal information. While an IP address can be associated with an individual computer, the IP address does NOT automatically identify the name of the computer's user or its purchaser.

We do not collect any of your personal information via our Web site unless you voluntarily provide it to us; for example, if you choose to send an e-mail message to ETF. If during your visit to the ETF Web site you send us an e-mail message, the following information will be collected: Your E-mail address and contents of your E-mail message. We may use the information in your e-mail message to respond to you, to research issues you identify, to further improve our Web site, or to forward the e-mail to another state or federal agency for appropriate action.

If you voluntarily provide ETF with personal information, state and federal privacy laws may protect it. However, if the information is not protected by federal or state law, this information is a public record once you provide it and may be subject to requests for public inspection and copying.

COOKIES

Cookies are small text files placed on your computer’s hard drive by a Web site that you visit. A cookie contains information that your browser saves and sends back to a Web server when you visit a Web site again. There are different types of cookies. ETF uses only session cookies. Session cookies allow data to be maintained for your benefit as you navigate our Web site. For example, a session cookie is used to temporarily store the information you enter into the Web site’s Retirement Benefits Calculator. Session cookies go away when you terminate your visit to the Web site. The information on these cookies is retained by ETF only while your session is active.

You can configure your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify you when a cookie is set. (Each browser is different, so check the "Help" menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.)

LINK DISCLAIMER

The ETF Web site has links to other sites. These links may include Web sites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private businesses. When you link to another site, you are no longer on a site covered by this privacy policy and are subject to the policies of that new site.