1.1 Welcome to Manufacturing America, an e-commerce marketplace for working learners located at https://www.ManufacturingAmerica.org. This policy is part of our Terms of Service. By visiting the Site or using its Services, you consent to our use of your personal information in the ways set out in this policy and Terms of Use. We take our responsibilities under applicable privacy laws and regulations ("Privacy Laws") seriously. We are committed to respecting the privacy rights and concerns of all users of our Site. We have a specific commitment to FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) compliance.
1.2 Personal Data. We recognize the importance of the personal data you have entrusted to us and believe that it is our responsibility to properly manage, protect, and process your personal data. This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy” or “Policy”) is designed to assist you in understanding how we collect, use, disclose, and/or process the personal data you have provided to us and/or we possess about you, whether now or in the future, as well as to assist you in making an informed decision before providing us with any of your personal data. If you have any questions regarding this information or our privacy practices, please contact us. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
1.3 Registering with Manufacturing America. By registering for an account with us, visiting our marketplace, or accessing its Services, you acknowledge and agree that you accept the practices, requirements, and/or policies outlined in this Privacy Policy, and you hereby consent to us collecting, using, disclosing, and/or processing your personal data as described herein. We may revise this Privacy Policy, but the most current version will always be at this link.
2.1 Basic Personal Information. When creating a user account, you are asked to provide us with a name, email address, phone number, location, and photo or another portrait image. The email address needs to be valid to allow password retrieval, correct navigation to your profile page and bookmarks, and other content that is unique to you. The location you supply is used to filter and display listings by proximity to you and to generate anonymous usage statistics by geographic location (see section 2.3). The photo and name you provide need to be consistent with a physical ID you have, since some assessments, courses, and work opportunities will verify your identity by matching your Manufacturing America name and photo to the physical ID you provide when showing up for in-person courses, services, or opportunities.
2.2 The personal information listed above is passed on to our providers when you purchase something on the marketplace. For example, colleges need your personal information to register you in their student databases, give you a student ID number, track your progress in their student record-keeping systems, communicate with you about course start dates, etc.
2.3 By our policies, both Manufacturing America and our providers from whom you have purchased a product may also reach out to you occasionally with solicitations or notifications regarding services.
2.4 Additional Personal Information You Provide When Making a Purchase:
2.4.1 When providers need more than the basic user information outlined in section 2.1 to deliver a product or service you requested, we will ask you, the user, for additional information during checkout to provide the information. The interface allows you to enter the requested information and (optionally) store it in your profile for later use with other providers if needed. It is your right to not fill out this information, in which case Manufacturing America may not be able to complete the transaction you requested.
2.4.2 Additional personal information we may collect in this purchase-triggered step includes, but is not limited to, gender, race, ethnicity, date of birth, alternate (e.g., maiden) names, alternate addresses, alternate phone numbers, student ID number, and sometimes Social Security number (informational items many colleges, in particular, are required to collect in order to successfully register and enroll students). Social Security numbers are the main identifier used by the Department of Labor (DOL) in all its wage records. The DOL wage data, which can only be retrieved using lists of social security numbers, tells the college which of its courses/programs/degrees result in the largest wage gains for its graduates. When colleges want to understand which of their courses are doing well preparing students, they may request social security numbers.
2.5 Credit Card Information You Provide on Checkout. Your credit card information is passed directly to Stripe, a PCI-compliant payment processing system, which handles the charging of your credit card and division of incoming funds to the Providers and marketplace. We do not ever see or store your credit card information.
2.6 Course Completion and Progress Information. Upon course completion, we will ask your permission to obtain your completion status from the college whose course you participated in, to store your “course completed” status on Manufacturing America. If you approve, that course will be marked completed in your profile, and skill credits from that course will be assigned to your skill profile. Storing these data on Manufacturing America allows you to 1) “redeem” (some) noncredit courses for credit after the fact and 2) document your skills and courses taken to share later with employers and others, as you see fit.
2.7 Reviews, Ratings, and Forum Posts You Author. You may voluntarily submit reviews, ratings, and forum posts on the Manufacturing America website. For these, the username and photo/portrait image you have given in your profile will be publicly displayed alongside the review, rating, and/or forum post you have given.
2.8 Page Views and Visits. We track the pages you visit to allow you to bookmark pages and keep track of them in your profile. Your page visits/view data are also aggregated with those of all other users to generate anonymous website usage statistics. We share these statistics with providers so they can better understand how their products are faring (e.g., which products are most popular). We combine site visit information with location to tell providers the rough geographic area (typically, city, state) where their users tend to be located.
2.9 Third-Party Applications. When you register an account in Manufacturing America using external third-party applications or services, such as Facebook, using an application programming interface (API), you permit us to receive this information. You may also choose to share some of your Manufacturing America activity to certain social media networks which are connected to your account.
2.10 Email Communications. Some messages from Manufacturing America are service-related and required for users. Examples of service-related messages include an email address confirmation/welcome email when you register your account and correspondence with the site. You may not opt out of receiving service-related messages unless you close your account. Rarely, we may use your email address to notify you of site-related issues that affect you. We will also communicate with you by email if you initiate communication with us.
2.11 Text Messaging. By providing your phone number, you consent to receive text messages from Manufacturing America related to job opportunities, promotions, and other relevant information. Message and data rates may apply. You can opt out of receiving text messages at any time by replying “OFF” or following the instructions provided in the message.
2.12 Selling Your Information. Within your profile page, you may have category-specific privacy settings that will allow Manufacturing America to "openly share” with a marketplace provider. For example, because you are looking for a job, you set your profile page to “openly share” your contact information and your Manufacturing America “results” (courses taken, tests passed) with potential employers. Manufacturing America is then permitted to not only give but also sell the information you’ve set to “openly share” with employers. That permission terminates when you change your settings; however, any employer who has already received your data will still have it after you changed your settings.
2.13 Legal Uses. We will release your personal information without your permission to a third party in the following circumstances: to protect, establish, or exercise our legal rights, defend against legal claims, or when such disclosure is necessary to comply with the law, such as investigations into illegal activities.
2.14 Other than as specified in this privacy policy, we will not release your name, email address, or other personal information to third parties without your consent.
3.1 Organization’s Identifying Information. When you become a provider, we collect the same basic information we collect from users (see section 2 above). However, for providers, we also publicly share the information about your company to users of Manufacturing America, by posting it on the website pages associated with you and/or your products. This publicly shared information includes your organization’s name, profile image, email, website URL, street address, description, and phone number.
3.2 Listing Information. All information you enter for a product listing is publicly displayed for users to see.
3.3 Page Views and Visits. We track user visits and views to pages related to you and your products in order to generate usage statistics by provider, by item, and sitewide.
3.4 Email and Phone Communication to You. Some messages from Manufacturing America are service-related and required for users. Examples include email confirmations/welcome emails and correspondence with the site. You may not opt out of receiving service-related messages unless you close your account. Rarely, we will contact individual providers to request or renew information about their site pages or items, or to ensure compliance with rules and law.
3.5 Third-Party Applications. When you connect to us or register an account using external third-party applications or services, such as Facebook, using an API, you grant us permission to receive information from these applications. You can also choose to share some of your activity to certain social media networks connected to your account.
3.6 Legal Uses. We may release your personal information to a third party to protect, establish, or exercise our legal rights, defend against legal claims, or when required by law.
4.1 Providers are responsible for maintaining the privacy and security of user data along their entire supply chain. Manufacturing America reserves the right to suspend accounts and/or take legal action against providers who do not keep user data private and secure, or who do not abide by the provisions below.
4.2 Providers in possession of a user's personal data obtained through Manufacturing America agree that they will (a) comply with all applicable personal data protection laws, and (b) allow the User (owner of personal data) the right to remove their collected data from the Provider (receiver of personal data) from the database upon request, unless prohibited by law.
4.3 Providers may not publicly post or distribute users’ photos, email addresses, phone numbers, or other user data without users’ explicit written permission.
4.4 Providers may never sell or resell user contact information obtained via Manufacturing America.
4.5 Rules Governing Providers Use of User Data for Advertising and Solicitation:
4.5.1 Beginning November 1, 2020, providers must state, on their organization’s profile page on Manufacturing America, their policy and practices with respect to sending unsolicited notifications and messages to users.
4.5.2 End-users who have given access permissions to specific data elements may have them disseminated within the organization but not outside. Contact must follow the user’s preferred mode of contact.
4.5.3 For all other users, providers may not utilize their information for unsolicited commercial messages or unauthorized transactions.
5.1 We are both a commercial marketplace and a community site. Users can communicate publicly (reviews, forum posts) or privately (contacting providers). Please use good judgment when posting personal information, as it can be read, collected, or used by others. You are responsible for the personal information you choose to post.
6.1 Manufacturing America protects personal information with reasonable physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards. No data security measures are completely guaranteed; you transmit information at your own risk.
6.2 Account information is protected by a password. You are responsible for protecting against unauthorized access by keeping your password and computer secure.
7.1 We will retain your information only as long as necessary to provide services. You may close your account to stop service use. We retain only data necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements.
7.2 Upon account deletion, sensitive and confidential customer data will be securely disposed of permanently.
8.1 Users can access, correct, change, and delete certain personal information via account settings.
9.1 Learners between ages 13 and 18 can create an account and provide personal information. They cannot enroll in or purchase courses without verifiable parental or guardian consent. Parents or guardians may request deletion of the account and associated data by contacting Manufacturing America.
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