Human Resource Blog

Storing Email

What are the requirements on saving and storing emails for the company? I know that HIPPA is primarily for insurance companies and law firms. Are general businesses required to back up all of their emails for a certain amount of time?

There are no general guidelines regarding preserving emails, even if they contain an employees private health information or other confidential business information.

Just to clarify, any conversation between an HR pro or a supervisor and an employee, about health insurance benefits, is covered by HIPAA. In addition, virtually every conversation is covered by HIPAA when the company is self-insured. Finally, the ADA imposes strict limits on the storage and sharing of an employees medical information — whether the employee is disabled or not.

The best practice is to print emails and store a copy in the appropriate personnel or confidential folder when it is a matter that may end up in litigation. This includes decisions on hiring, staffing, promotions, layoffs, decisions on salaries, decisions related to ADA and employee complaint resolution.

In particular, you should keep any emails that will support hiring and salary decisions. As you know, the Ledbetter Act permits an employee to sue the employer, even 20 years later, for disparities in pay. You should have documentation that addresses the valid business reasons for such decisions. If that documentation is in email, then you should print out copies or back up the email.

The general guideline is that any email that may be advantageous to the employer in a future lawsuit should be preserved. Other emails can be deleted. However, be aware that it is unlawful to delete such communications once they become the subject of a court subpoena that requires you to share them. In addition, be aware that even “deleted” emails can often be recovered by law enforcement officials and investigators.  Often, even if you do not back up emails, they may be available from the Internet Service Provider.

Perhaps more importantly, every employer should have a policy requiring managers and staff to conduct themselves professionally, even in emails and texts. Employees should be reminded that this is not informal, casual or private communication, and any email may become fodder for a lawsuit.