An e-mail policy and
procedures instructing employees on how to implement the policy, can be an agency's greatest strength
during lawsuits and audits. The cost of
formulating an e-mail policy is
minimal when compared to the potential liability if the agency is left exposed
to litigation.
Don’t send
confidential or other sensitive information in e-mail, either in the message
text or as an
attachment.
Each e-mail message must be categorized, classified and
retained according to its content.
In Oregon, paper and
microform are the only storage media approved for long-term preservation of records.
State law prohibits the destruction of
e-mail or any other records not listed on a current retention schedule. The law also prohibits the destruction of records
before their retention period has been reached.
Many record types can be sent via e-mail, so when
referring to the retention schedules – make sure to look for the type of record based on the content
of the e-mail.