Chapter 4 – Information Technology

47110.16 E‑Mail Retention

• E-mail messages are official records and are subject to State, federal and CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation rules and policies for retention and deletion. The E-mail Retention Policy defines how long information sent or received by e-mail should be retained. These policy guidelines cover only information that is either stored or shared via e-mail, including e-mail attachments. This policy establishes retention parameters to effectively capture, manage, and retain e-mail messages. All e-mail (e.g., administrative correspondence, fiscal correspondence, general correspondence) is subject to this policy. This policy applies to all individuals using the CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation e-mail system. All sent and received e-mail from the department’s e-mail system shall be retained for a period of three years.

• When litigation is pending or future litigation is reasonably probable, the law imposes a duty upon CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to preserve all documents and records that pertain to certain issues. A litigation hold directive overrides any retention policy until the litigation hold has been cleared. E-mail for employees that have been placed on litigation hold must be retained by CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation until the litigation hold is released or 3 years have passed, whichever occurs later.