Worker Terms - NDA - CrowdSurf Work

CrowdSurf Freelancer NDA/Terms Of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms & Conditions (Terms as a Contract)

1.1. CrowdSurf-Transcriptionist Relationship. These Terms & Conditions govern the relationship between CrowdSurf (“CrowdSurf”) and you (“You”, “Your”, “Transcriber” or “Transcriptionist”), and your contracted employment with CrowdSurf via a third party platform (including, but not limited to WorkMarket, Mechanical Turk, Upwork, or others), and upon acceptance constitute a legally binding contract.

1.2. Agreeing to the Terms. To begin your contracted employment, you must agree to the Terms disclosed herein. To agree to the Terms, click to accept the Terms where this option is given during the registration process.

1.3. Legal Age & Contractual Capacity. Contracted employment with CrowdSurf is limited to persons age eighteen (18) or older, and an individual legally capable, by U.S. law, of entering into a legally binding contract with CrowdSurf. Acceptance of the Terms represents admission of authorization of legal age and signatory capacity. At its discretion, CrowdSurf reserves the right to terminate its relationship with any Transcriptionist who is found to have submitted inaccurate information or misrepresented themselves in any manner.

1.4. Amendments to the Terms. The Terms of Service may be amended at any time by CrowdSurf. An updated version of the Terms will be posted to http://crowdsurfwork.com/worker-terms-nda/ to inform Transcriptionist. The most recent Terms will take precedence and replace all prior agreements between CrowdSurf and Transcriptionist. If Transcriptionist no longer accepts the new Terms, Transcriptionist must terminate their contracted employment with CrowdSurf immediately.

CrowdSurf materials contained on any platform website (including but not limited to WorkMarket, Mechanical Turk, Upwork, CrowdSurfWork) will only be used as is permitted by the Terms and any law, regulation or guideline in appropriate jurisdictions
CrowdSurf jobs will not be accessed or attempted to be accessed through any means other than the user interface provided, including through any automated means. This includes, but is not limited to, any attempt to breach security features, to probe or test the website’s defenses, or to access any CrowdSurf system or network for which the Transcriptionist has no authorization
Transcriptionist will not access jobs, content, or data for which the Transcriptionist has no authorization
Transcriptionist will not act in any way that leads to the interference or disruption of CrowdSurf jobs available on any platform (including but not limited to WorkMarket, Mechanical Turk, Upwork, CrowdSurfWork), or any equipment connected with posting or processing these jobs
Transcriptionist will not duplicate, reproduce, trade, sell, resell, publish or exploit any part of the audio files, or transcribed content at any time
Transcriptionist is completely responsible for any violation of the Terms and is liable for all consequences that may result from such a violation. This includes any loss or damage suffered by CrowdSurf or its clients as a result of Transcriptionist’s violation

2. Conditions of CrowdSurf Contracted Employment

2.1. Non-Disclosure Agreement. CrowdSurf provides secure and confidential voice to text transcription services to its clients. Upon acceptance of the Terms, you commit to holding all CrowdSurf materials that you have access to secure and confidential. Transcriptionist will do all in their power to protect CrowdSurf materials from eyes and ears not approved for access to these materials. This includes but is not limited to: audio files, text transcripts, and all information contained therein. Transcriptionist is forbidden from recording, copying, saving, sharing or discussing these materials at any time, in any manner, including by means of the Internet.

2.2. Background Checks. CrowdSurf may conduct a background check of its Transcriptionists upon employment. By agreeing to the Terms, you give irrevocable permission to CrowdSurf to conduct such background checks at its discretion.

2.3 Transcriptionists Agreement to Use. By accepting the Terms, Transcriptionist agrees to the following regarding use of Website:

2.4. Account Access. CrowdSurf and its affiliates and/or subsidiaries reserve the right to access Transcriptionist’s account content and completed work on an as needed basis in order to manage CrowdSurf’ clients’ accounts and our employment contract with Transcriptionist.

2.5. Criminal/Civil Liabilities. Any Transcriptionist who violates any stipulation of the Terms may be subject to the full extent of the law, including holding said person to civil and/or criminal liability. CrowdSurf will cooperate directly with appropriate law enforcement in the case of any investigation related to a violation of the Terms.

2.6. Payment. Payments are made via a third party platform (including but not limited to WorkMarket, Mechanical Turk, Upwork, or others). CrowdSurf is not responsible for any delay in payment caused by said third party platform (including but not limited to WorkMarket, Mechanical Turk, Upwork, or others), non-delivery of payment due to mail delivery services, or denial of payment by the third party platform for any reason.

It is your responsibility to maintain proper posture and good health. Transcriptionist agrees that CrowdSurf will not be held responsible for any damage to health in any way as a result of time spent working for CrowdSurf. Transcriptionist works at their own risk. CrowdSurf does not provide professional medical advise.

3. CrowdSurf Transcription

3.1. Equipment Requirements. Working as a CrowdSurf transcriptionist requires a high speed Internet connection (DSL or Cable through a third-party provider), and either high quality speakers or headphones. Ideally, the headphones should be noise-cancelling.

3.2. Health & Posture. As Transcriptionists may sit in front of a computer and transcribe for long periods of time, CrowdSurf recommends the following to sustain good health:

Maintain proper posture while sitting to prevent fatigue or soreness in your back and neck;
Maintain a reasonable sound level when using headphones or speakers to prevent damage to hearing;
If required to type a transcript, maintain proper typing posture with wrist support to limit the risk of developing Carpel Tunnel Syndrome;
Practice the 20-20-20 method to prevent eye strain; every 20 minutes look 20 feet away from you for 20 seconds
Periodically stand and stretch your legs
Consult your physician, health care professional, or other health care resources you deem appropriate to: 1) determine whether or not transcription using a computer poses health risks for you, and 2) develop your own plan to prevent injury and maintain health

4. Transcriptionist Conduct

4.1. Transcription Accuracy. It is CrowdSurf’s intent to provide accurate transcripts to its clients. Transcriptionist agrees to be solely responsible for the quality and accuracy of the transcribed content you are contracted to create. Transcriptionist is liable for the consequences of the act of intentionally altering or falsifying the transcript in any way that deviates from the audio file you receive, and for any loss or damage suffered by CrowdSurf or CrowdSurf’s clients as a direct result. No responsibility may be attributed to CrowdSurf or any third party.

4.2.Quality Control. In order to provide quality control of the final transcripts provided to CrowdSurf clients, the transcripts you create may be accessed, viewed or edited by any authorized CrowdSurf representative. A consistent level of high quality work and/or improvements in the level of your work may be rewarded financially or in merit form at the discretion of CrowdSurf. Consequently, if CrowdSurf determines your transcriptions to be of low quality or if your work is failing to progress, CrowdSurf reserves the right to require you to participate in further training or to alter your access to CrowdSurf jobs, including termination, at any time our discretion.

4.3. Appropriateness of Content. Transcriptionist must agree that the contents of audio files provided to you by CrowdSurf for transcription are not endorsed by CrowdSurf. This includes, but is not limited to, content which is libelous, threatening, harassing, abusive, obscene, offensive, an infringement of any third party intellectual property rights, or related to a potential criminal or civil offense.

4.4 Reporting Inappropriate Content. The contents of all audio files provided by CrowdSurf for transcription are subject to any applicable local, state, national or international laws and regulations. If Transcriptionist becomes aware of any content that you feel may violate such laws or regulations, you are responsible for reporting said content to the Requester immediately.

4.5 Unavoidable Barriers To Perfect Transcription. CrowdSurf does not warrant that audio recordings provided to Transcriptionist will be free from error or 100% audible. CrowdSurf also realizes that your transcribed work may contain unavoidable inaccuracies due to unusual slang, regional dialects, or obscure names, words, or phrases contained within audio recordings. Transcriptionist always retains the right to reject a transcription job if you do not know how to handle such audio recordings.

4.6. Transcription Formatting. CrowdSurf acknowledges that spoken word is often very different from proper grammar and may be in the form of run-on sentences. You will need to use your language proficiency knowledge and skills to ensure that punctuation is placed in the appropriate locations.

4.7 Transcription Consistency. CrowdSurf asks that Transcriptionist refer to and follow the Transcription Formatting Guide to consistently format your transcriptions. CrowdSurf recommends printing the guide for quick reference during transcription.

4.8. Unauthorized Account Use. Transcriptionist is responsible for any unauthorized use of their WorkMarket account, whether known or unknown, by a third party. Transcriptionist must contact CrowdSurf immediately if you notice any unauthorized use of your account.

5. Password Confidentiality & Account Security

5.1. Password Confidentiality. As a Transcriptionist, you agree and understand that you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any usernames, passwords or PINs which may gain access to your WorkMarket account. In the case of any unauthorized use of your account, username, password or PIN, you agree to immediately inform CrowdSurf of this activity.

5.2. Account Security. For any loss incurred as a result of unauthorized use of your account, password or PIN, whether known or unknown, CrowdSurf will not be held liable. You are solely responsible to CrowdSurf for all activities that may occur under your personal account.

6. Privacy & Personal Information

6.1. Account Access. CrowdSurf may be required by a governmental or legal request to access and/or disclose your personal information and the details of your CrowdSurf work in the case of a search warrant, subpoena, court order, or other legal process. In accepting these Terms, Transcriptionist verifies CrowdSurf’s right to do so.

6.2. Storage of Work. Jobs you process for CrowdSurf may be stored and processed in a CrowdSurf facility or a facility of its agents in the United States.

6.3 Data Collection for Research
Crowdsurf collects data on an ongoing basis to improve company practices, worker satisfaction, and productivity. This data includes a record of workers’ activity and performance over time. Organizations like the Department of Economics at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and others help us analyze this data. All data retained and analyzed is anonymous in nature and excludes personal identifiers. By accepting this agreement, you acknowledge that Crowdsurf may share this data, without any personal identifiers, with these organizations for their research purposes. There are no known risks or direct benefits to you from allowing this data to be used in the research. UCSB researchers have obtained Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for the use of the data.

7. Proprietary Rights & Intellectual Property

7.1. CrowdSurf’ Intellectual Property. The use of CrowdSurf’ brand names, logos, domain names, trademarks, servicemarks, copyrighted materials, patents or any other brand elements unique to CrowdSurf and its Services is strictly prohibited, unless you have entered into a written agreement with CrowdSurf detailing otherwise. If such an agreement exists, brand elements approved for use must be handled in compliance with the guidelines specific to that agreement.

8. Termination of Employment

8.1. Termination By CrowdSurf. Transcriptionist’s contracted employment may be terminated at any time, for any reason by CrowdSurf. Additionally, CrowdSurf may terminate its agreement with you if you refuse to comply with the Terms or act in a manner that breaches the Terms. At its sole discretion, CrowdSurf may also deny Transcriptionist access to CrowdSurf jobs at any time without prior notice.

8.2. Termination By Transcriptionist. Transcriptionist’s contracted employment may be terminated at any time, for any reason by the Transcriptionist.

8.3. Termination of Agreement. The termination of your contracted employment is also the termination of the Terms, relieving CrowdSurf and ex-Transcriptionist of any obligations or rights contained therein, except where such obligations or rights are stated to continue indefinitely.

8.4. CrowdSurf’ Waiver of Rights. If CrowdSurf should fail to implement and/or enforce any portion of these Terms, it will not constitute a waiver of any rights or provisions laid out in the Terms, unless such a waiver is agreed to by CrowdSurf in writing.

9. Indemnification

9.1. Indemnification. Transcriptionist agrees to indemnify and hold harmless CrowdSurf and its officers, directors, affiliates, subsidiaries, representatives, agents and employees from and against any and all costs, damages, claims, demands, expenses, suits, judgments, and losses (including, but not limited to, reasonable legal costs) due to the Transcriptionist’s breach of these Terms. The same applies to any third-party claims or suits which may arise as the result of your use of the Website. This section of the Terms shall remain active even upon termination of these Terms.

10. Legal Claims

10.1. Agreement Governance. These Terms is governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of laws provisions or Transcriptionists actual place of residency. All claims and disputes arising from these Terms will be brought solely to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Santa Barbara County, California, and must be filed within one (1) year of such claim, as it will thereafter be waived and barred. Despite this stipulation, CrowdSurf may apply for injunctive remedies in the jurisdiction of its choosing.

10.2. Invalid Provisions. If any provision of these Terms is ruled invalid by a court of law having jurisdiction in this matter, that provision will be stricken from the Terms, leaving the remaining provisions in effect and enforceable.

10.3. Section Headings. The section headings in the Terms are for convenience only, and have no legal or contractual consequence.

11. Notices (Contacting Transcriptionists)

11.1 Contacting Transcriptionists. CrowdSurf reserves the right to contact Transcriptionists at its own discretion regarding its jobs, services, changes to these Terms, and other issues which may pertain to Transcriptionist’s employment. Transcriptionist consents to allow CrowdSurf Requester to contact you via email, posting on the Website, or through other means via the Internet while accessing the Website.

12. Changes to the Agreement & Services

12.1. CrowdSurf’ Right To Change Terms. CrowdSurf reserves the right to change or alter these Terms at any time for any reason. The revised version will be available to Transcriptionists via posting on http://crowdsurfwork.com/worker-terms-nda/. It is Your responsibility to check these Terms periodically to review any changes.

12.2. Acceptance of Terms. Your decision to continue your contracted employment with CrowdSurf is your acceptance of any changes to the Terms. If you do not accept the changes, you must terminate your employment immediately.