Laws and Regulations

Obeying the law, both in letter and in spirit, is the foundation on which OGE’s ethical standards are built. OGE is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations. Many laws and regulations are complex and difficult to interpret; however, ignorance of the law does not excuse OGE or each of us from our obligation to comply. Similarly, OGE expects all agents, for example, contractors doing business for OGE, to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. All officers and supervisors are responsible for understanding the laws and regulations which affect their areas of operation and for ensuring that all of their members receive adequate information and instruction to enable them to understand and comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements which may vary by job function. It is also important to recognize that no matter what the job, there are legal standards that apply to it. Certain legal and regulatory requirements of particular importance to OGE are generally described below. However, for detailed information regarding compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, members should consult their supervisors, refer to the appropriate policy and/or department procedures and/or consult with the Law Department.

Protecting the Environment

OGE is environmentally responsible. OGE accepts responsibility to operate its facilities and provide services in a cost-effective manner that meets or exceeds standards contained in environmental laws and regulations and minimizes their impacts on the environment.

OGE has established practices to minimize waste and pollution, to conserve natural resources, to promote energy conservation and to conduct and support research and development projects that foster environmental protection. OGE works with regulatory agencies and others to develop and support equitable laws and regulations to protect the environment.

Health and Safety

OGE is committed to providing a work environment that is free from recognized health and safety hazards and to educate members, agents, such as contractors, and the public about health and safety hazards associated with our facilities and operations. Furthermore, OGE management is committed to the recognition, assessment and control of health and safety hazards related to OGE facilities and operations.

OGE strictly prohibits acts of physical intimidation, assaults or threats of violence by members. Members may not enter any building or facility owned by OGE while in possession of a weapon.

Members may not bring certain items into any OGE facility, such as illegal drugs. Accordingly, members are prohibited from using, selling, purchasing, transferring, or possessing any illegal drug or controlled substance (except medically prescribed drugs) while engaging in OGE business or while on OGE property. Members should report to work in a condition to perform their duties, free from the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs. OGE will comply with the Department of Transportation and any other applicable laws for drug and alcohol testing. If you are taking a prescribed medication that might affect your safety or efficiency, you should inform your supervisor before you begin work.

Harassment and Discrimination

OGE is an Equal Opportunity Employer and the diversity of its workforce is a tremendous asset. OGE’s policy is to recruit, hire, train and promote into all job levels the most qualified applicants and to compensate individuals without regard to an individual's gender, race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, or other conditions protected by law.

Harassment is a form of discrimination that has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance, creating a hostile, or offensive work environment, or otherwise adversely affecting an individual's employment opportunities. OGE does not tolerate racial, sexual or any other form of harassment of members in the workplace.

Harassment may include, but is not limited to, the use of epithets or slurs, stereotyping, intimidating or offensive conduct and language (conversations), displaying or distributing offensive materials, and making offensive jokes and comments based on an individual’s gender, race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, or other conditions protected by law.

OGE does not tolerate harassment or discrimination and will take prompt corrective action if violations occur. Complaints will be kept confidential to the extent possible and retaliation is strictly prohibited. Members must report harassment or discrimination to either their supervisor, their Business Unit’s Human Resources representative, or the Manager, Placement and EEO, at 405.553.3482.

Sexual Harassment

OGE strives to provide every member a respectful work environment free from sexual harassment. Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other things of a sexually offensive nature such as posters, calendars, or other sexually suggestive written, recorded, or electronic messages, offensive comments, jokes, innuendoes, other sexually oriented statements, or all other similar verbal or physical conduct where:

• the conduct either implicitly or explicitly is a term or condition of employment, or
• is used as the basis for decisions affecting an individual's employment, or
• unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.
• OGE does not tolerate sexual harassment and will take prompt corrective action if violations occur. Complaints of sexual harassment will be kept as confidential as possible and retaliation is strictly prohibited. Members must report complaints of sexual harassment to either their supervisor, their Human Resources representative or the Manager, Placement and EEO, 405.553.3482.
  
  Affiliate Standards and Transactions
• Certain transactions between the regulated utility and its affiliates are subject to standards issued by federal agencies and/or the individual state commissions with jurisdiction over the regulated utility. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has full jurisdiction over the interstate pipeline and has established standards applicable to affiliate transactions. In addition, federal and/or state laws or regulations may impose standards relating to the provision of gas transportation services by pipeline companies to their respective affiliates.
  
  Members will comply with all statutes, regulatory rules and orders, and accounting standards applicable to transactions between affiliates (“affiliate standards”). Affiliate transactions involve the provision, sale, assignment, transfer or lease of goods, services or other assets between a regulated entity and its affiliates. The affiliate standards were issued to ensure that transactions between a regulated entity and its affiliates are appropriate. The intent of the affiliate standards is to protect against a regulated entity improperly discriminating in favor of its marketing affiliate(s). You should consult your supervisor, OGE’s Ethics Officer, or company legal counsel for guidance on how the affiliate standards may apply to a particular situation.
• Confidential Information
• It may be necessary for members to receive, or have access to, confidential information. Confidential information may not be disclosed to anyone except authorized members or agents, (e.g., contractors and/or consultants who have a legitimate "need to know" about the information in order to fulfill a valid business purpose of OGE) or as required by regulatory agencies or tribunals. Also, you can only use confidential information for OGE’s benefit and not for your own advantage or the advantage of others.
  
  Confidential information refers to any and all information and materials of a confidential or proprietary nature, including trade secrets, business plans and proposals, sales forecasts, sales and marketing strategies, client and customer lists and account or contract information, customer contract information, pricing and pricing strategies, construction plans, employee personnel records, vendor supplier data, new business leads and specific areas of research and business development.
  
  These obligations and responsibilities continue in effect while you are an employee and after your employment ends for any reason. In addition, if you receive confidential information or trade secrets from a previous employer, you have an obligation to avoid disclosing it to OGE or other members. By using it or revealing such information, you place OGE and yourself at legal risk. This does not prohibit you from using general skills and knowledge acquired with previous employers in your job at OGE.
• Intellectual Property
• Inventions and creative works that you develop in the course of your job, and in certain cases after you leave OGE, are the property of OGE. You are responsible for helping to ensure that OGE receives the maximum benefit from these innovations and developments. These responsibilities include advising OGE of any inventions or creative works you develop and assisting OGE in obtaining legal protection for them. For further guidance, you should discuss your situation with the Law Department.
• Competitive Intelligence
• It is a legitimate business practice for OGE to be interested in information concerning competitors, including competitive prices. Where such information has been acquired in the proper manner, e.g., public sources such as advertisements or published articles, industry gatherings such as conferences and trade shows, and industry surveys by reputable consultants, it is proper to disseminate it within OGE for use in making business decisions.
  
  However, members should not obtain proprietary competitive information through improper means. Examples include: 1) receiving information from a third party that was illegally or improperly acquired, 2) receiving confidential information of a company from present or former members who are not authorized to disclose it, 3) seeking the proprietary information of another company by misrepresentation, coercion or other improper means and 4) engaging in industrial espionage or theft of proprietary information.
• Copyright Protection
• A copyright is a legal right that protects the copyright holder's creative work from unauthorized use, reproduction or copying. Examples of copyrighted material are software programs, professional publications, books, treatises and presentation materials. Members are prohibited from reproducing or copying copyrighted material without the copyright holder's prior authorization or permission. Possible violations include unauthorized photocopying and e-mail distribution, and copying and distributing copyright-protected files or programs from the Internet or other electronic database services without the owner's consent.
  

Computer Software 
• OGE regularly licenses computer software from a variety of outside companies. OGE does not own this software or its related documentation and does not have the right to reproduce it unless authorized by the owner of the software.
  
  Members are responsible for using licensed software strictly in accordance with the terms of the underlying license agreement. Members are prohibited from copying the software or documentation for personal or home use, or from using the software on more than one PC or local area network, unless expressly authorized by the terms of the underlying license agreement and by your supervisor.
  
  You should review with your supervisor the rights available under the license agreement and how to obtain permission to make multiple copies of software for business use.
  


• Publications
• OGE has purchased the right to make copies of certain published materials for internal business purposes through agreements with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC). For the list of publications covered by these agreements, you should contact the Manager Information Management 405.553.3996, the Department responsible for maintaining this list. Copying from other publications is strictly prohibited, except with the prior permission of the publisher. For further guidance in obtaining copy permission or for advice on the fair use of copyrighted materials, refer to the Law Department.