Terms of Use Agreement

Thanks for your interest in Coworker.org (“Coworker” or the “Site”). We are excited for you to use the Site.

These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) are our policies about how you may use the Site. By using the Site, you are agreeing to these Terms, so please read them carefully. If you have any questions about these terms, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Coworker also has a Privacy Policy and rules for acceptable petitions, which are contained in the Site’s Frequently Asked Questions page. You should also read these policies carefully, as they also contain important information about the Site, and your rights and obligations in using the Site.

Coworker is still growing, and we hope to add features in the future. There may be additional terms for some of these features. If these Terms conflict with the additional terms, the additional terms control.

We may update or modify these Terms from time to time. We will let you know when the Terms change, and you should review them after they do. If you keep using the Site after the Terms change, that means that you agree to any of the changes. The Terms were last updated on July 3, 2018.

These Terms are designed to protect you and the Site’s other users, and to ensure that Coworker can function in the way it is intended: as a space where workers can come together to improve their workplace. Therefore, if you violate these Terms, we may block or deny you access to the Site and remove any offending content that you post. This decision will be made at Coworker’s sole discretion.

Common Sense and Good Manners

Let’s start with the basics. Please be respectful and kind. Do not resort to personal attacks of any kind. For example, if you are starting a petition about the conduct of a supervisor at your workplace, don’t make disparaging comments about their appearance; instead, focus on their conduct in the workplace.

Please use common sense when you post content on the Site. It will be visible to other users and could be shared outside of the Site. It is your responsibility to make sure you do not post anything you don’t want others to see.

Creating an Account

You do not have to create an account to use most of the features on the Site. If you choose to create an account, we will ask you for your full name, email address, phone number, and zip code. By creating an account, you promise that all of the information you provide is truthful and accurate. Our Privacy Policy has the details about how we use this information.

You should protect your password for the Site in the same manner you would for other websites. Do not give your password to another person, and never provide your password online except during the log-in process (or if you forget your password).

If you decide you want to terminate your account at any time, for any reason, let us know in writing or follow the links included in each email you receive. We will cancel your account within 5 days of receipt.

We reserve the right to cancel your account at any time for any reason, including for violations of these Terms.

Creating Content on Coworker

If you create or post content to the Site, you must follow the rules listed in this section. Coworker has the right to remove any content from the website at any time, for any reason, including for violation of any law or these Terms. If you post any content that violates these Terms, or that is inappropriate or in violation of the spirit of the Terms, we may remove it at our sole discretion.

A. Acceptable Content

Coworker is designed to help you connect with other workers to increase worker power and improve working conditions throughout the country. All of the content that you post on the Site should be consistent with this aim. Other uses of the Site are not permitted under these Terms.

To that end, the Site allows you to create petition campaigns, support the petition campaigns of others, talk with other workers through petition comments, join networks of similar workers, and organize and manage local events. The Site also lets you make your voice heard by participating in online surveys and polling.

B. Prohibited Content

First, commercial use of the Site is absolutely prohibited. You cannot use Coworker as part of any for-profit or business purpose. For instance, you are not permitted use the Site to advertise any products or services in any way.

Coworker values a respectful exchange of ideas. Do not post any content that advocates hate, violence, abuse, threats, or harm against any person, entity or group. Similarly, do not post any content that bullies, harasses, or encourages others to bully or harass, any person entity or group. Any content that is racist, sexist, or otherwise prejudiced towards any person or group is absolutely prohibited. Do not post content that is vulgar, obscene, or pornographic.

You may not use the Site to promote or encourage illegal, unethical, or unlawful activity. You may also not post content that is defamatory, libelous, or slanderous. Finally, you may not post content that infringes on the rights of any third-party, including copyright or intellectual property rights, that discloses confidential information or trade secrets, or that violates any right or duty you may have under law.

Keep in mind that this is not a complete list of prohibited content. If we discover user content that is contrary to the spirit of these Terms or is not in line with the aims of this Site, we may remove it at our sole discretion.

Your Use of Coworker

When using Coworker, we give you a license to access and use the Site. This license is revocable at our sole discretion, which means that if you use Coworker in a way that violates these Terms, we reserve the right to block or deny your access to the Site, terminate your account, or pursue legal action against you at our sole discretion. By using the Site, you agree that Coworker may take these steps to the extent necessary to stop your unauthorized use of the Site and without notice to you. Please make sure to use Coworker in a way that is consistent with these Terms.

A. Acceptable Use

We are excited for you to use the Site. You may access the Site, and the content on the Site, for your personal use.

All of the content on the Site, including content generated by other users, is provided to you as is. As such, do not modify or change any of the content contained on Coworker.

B. Prohibited Use

You may only use the Site as intended. Do not engage in any activity that may disrupt the Site’s servers. Do not attempt to access to the Site in any way that is inconsistent with the instructions we provide. Do not attempt to interfere with, circumvent, or disable any of Coworker’s security features. Similarly, do not upload, post, email, or transmit any viruses or other malicious programs that are designed to damage or interfere with any computer system, data, or personal information. Do not attempt to gain access to any other users account or password.

Coworker is a safe space for workers to come together. Therefore, using this site to stalk, harass, bully, threaten or intimidate any user is absolutely prohibited.

As stated above, all commercial use of Coworker is prohibited. You may not collect usernames, contact information, email addresses, or any other information from other users of the site to solicit business. You may not post advertisements of any kind for a business on Coworker. You may not sell products, raise funds, or solicit contributions except as explicitly provided in these Terms.

You are not permitted to use, copy, modify, or distribute any other person’s content posted on the Coworker in any manner inconsistent with the Site’s purpose or these Terms.

Trust is an important part of Coworker. You may not copy, forward, or otherwise disclose the personally-identifying information of any Coworker user outside of the Site.

Do not post information that is false or misleading, including impersonating any person or entity.

C. Communicating with other Users

We do not regularly monitor your communications with other users of the Site. If, however, we receive notice or complaints of any behavior contrary to the spirit of these Terms, we reserve the right to monitor your communications and take other appropriate action at our sole discretion.

D. Our Partners’ Tools

We use a variety of third party tools and software to deliver services and support to our users. By using our Site, you acknowledge that we may contract with third parties for certain features or functions of our Site (e.g. accepting donations).

Copyright and Intellectual Property

A. Our Stuff

Anything that is part of the Site--including but not limited to computer programs and applications, source code, web applications, database programs, web content, and all written, graphic, audio, and visual works incorporated into and utilized by the Site--is the intellectual property of Coworker or one of our partners. You cannot copy, modify, publish or use any of this intellectual property outside of the normal use of Coworker.

B. Your Stuff

You are responsible for the content you post on the Site. Coworker does not publish, monitor, or modify the content posted on the Site. Coworker is not responsible for the content you post.

You may only post content that you own on Coworker, so by posting any content on the Site, you are promising us that you are not violating another person or entity’s intellectual property or copyright. You retain the all of the legal rights, including your copyright and intellectual property rights, to any content you post on Coworker.

When you post content on Coworker, you give Coworker and our partners a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, publish, publicly display, and distribute that content. This license continues even if you delete the content or stop using the Site.

By using the Site, you also give us a worldwide license to collect and use the aggregate data generated by your use of the Site. We may use this data, with our partners, to conduct academic studies, to improve the functionality of Coworker, or for other purposes consistent with the purpose of the Site. For a more detailed description of how we may use this aggregate data, see our Privacy Policy.

We may, at our sole discretion, feature your content or petition on the home page of the site or on any affiliated websites. We may also publicize your content or petition in the media at our sole discretion. If we choose to feature or publicize your content or petition, this does not constitute an endorsement of your content or petition by Coworker.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Coworker’s policy is to respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). Our DMCA policy can be found at the bottom of this page.

Changes to the Site

We are in a continuing process of modifying and improving our Site and services. As part of this process, we may suspend, discontinue, modify, or terminate the services offered on the Site. These changes may include terminating the Site altogether. We may also launch new, related websites, applications, and projects. These Terms will be edited to incorporate these changes.

Disclaimers

Coworker is provided to users as is. Other than what is expressly laid out in these Terms, Coworker makes no promises about its Site or the services offered on the Site. Coworker specifically disclaims any warranty of fitness for a particular purpose or noninfringement, and further expressly disclaims any implied warranty and terms and conditions.

You are responsible for the content you post on Coworker. Coworker will not be liable in any way for the content posted on the Site by its users. Unless we expressly state otherwise, Coworker does not create, edit, modify, or routinely review or check for accuracy any member content or petitions. Coworker therefore does not guarantee the accuracy of any content posted on Coworker. Coworker is not responsible for the content of any member content or petitions on Coworker. You may come across content that you find offensive or otherwise objectionable. Coworker is neither responsible nor liable for such content.

Additionally, you agree, by using or posting content on the site, to indemnify and hold Coworker harmless from and against all claims of any kind arising from any member content or petition. You also agree to release, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Coworker, its partners, and all related entities from all damages, liabilities, and claims arising from your use of the Site.

We do our best to protect all of your data and information. However, in the event of a data breach, Coworker will not be liable to you for any damages resulting from the breach, including for indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special, or punitive damages.

Coworker is not responsible for the conduct of any user, either on or off the Site.

Except where otherwise restricted or prohibited by law, Coworker will not be liable to you or any third person for indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special, or punitive damages, including lost profits arising from your use of the Site, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Using the Site does not create an agency, partnership, joint venture, employer-employee relationship, or any other legal relationship between you and Coworker.

By using the Site, you agree that any claim or controversy arising under these Terms will be governed by the laws of the State of New York, as they apply to agreements entered into within New York and between New York residents, without regard to conflict of law provisions. Any claim will be resolved in New York County, New York. You agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of New York County, New York.

If any part of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be struck, and the rest of the provisions will continue in full force and effect.

Coworker’s rights under these Terms, including rights concerning liability, disclaimer, and licensing, survive the termination of the Site or of these Terms.

Coworker’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act Policy

Coworker’s policy is to respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). Any content posted on the Site that violates someone else’s copyright or intellectual property can be removed from Coworker through our DMCA processes, listed below. If you believe, in good faith, that a user of the Site has infringed on your copyright, you can request that we take it down by following the steps listed below. By posting any content on Coworker, you agree to comply with the DMCA processes in this policy.

Notices and Counter-Notices (described below) are legal documents that are not part of the regular activity of the Site. As such, they are not covered under our Privacy Policy. Coworker may publish or share them with third parties at our discretion, and we may produce them in response to a legal discovery request or court order.

Anyone who makes a false Notice or Counter-Notice may be liable for damages under the DMCA. If you are unsure if content infringes your copyright, contact an attorney for guidance.

A. Filing a DMCA Notice

If you truly believe that content posted on Coworker violates your copyright, send us a DMCA notice. We can only accept a Notice from the copyright holder or from someone authorized to act on the copyright holder’s behalf, such as an attorney. We reserve the right to ignore a Notice that does not comply with the DMCA.

To be valid, a DMCA Notice must:

Tell us specifically what copyrighted work has been infringed. (“My copyrighted work is an image that appears at [state location on Coworker]”).
Tell us what content is infringing on your copyright with enough detail that we can find the item on the Site and distinguish it from content that does not violate your copyright.
Provide screenshots of the material so we can clearly identify it.
Give us your contact information--name, street address, telephone number, and email--so that we can contact you directly.
If you can, give us information that we can use to contact the person allegedly infringing on your work.
Include the following statement: “I have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or any applicable law.”
Include the following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.”
Be signed.

The Notice must be sent to our DMCA designed agent at the following address:

Outside Counsel
Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP
900 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Phone: 212-356-0254
Email: [email protected]

When we receive a valid DMCA Notice, we will respond by either taking down the content in question or blocking access to it. We may follow up with the person who sent the Notice to get further information.

We may also contact the user who posted the disputed content. The user who posted the disputed content is allowed under the DMCA to send us a Counter-Notice by following the steps listed below.

B. Filing a DMCA Counter-Notice

If we remove or block your content after receiving a DMCA Notice, you may send us a Counter-Notice asking for the disputed content to be restored. We reserve the right to ignore a Notice that does not comply with the DMCA.

To be valid, a DMCA Counter-Notice must:

Describe and list all material that were removed by Coworker and the location where the material was posted before it was removed. Please provide reasonably detailed information so that we can identify the content in question.
Provide your name, address, telephone number and email address.
State that you consent to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located (or New York, New York if your address is outside of the United States).
State that you will accept service of process from the person who sent the DMCA Notice to us.
Include the following statement: “I swear under penalty of perjury, that I have a good faith belief that the material identified above was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.”
Be signed.