HomeMy WebLinkAboutPolicy - Email Archiving Retention and Review Section I: General Government and Administration
Policy: Email Archiving, Retention and Review
Reviewed by: County Attorney/County Manager
Approved by: County Attorney/County Manager
Original Effective Date: August 1, 2012
Revisions:
Policy Statement
To implement a system for archiving and reviewing all electronic mails related to County business generated or
received by County employees and County Commissioners using the County's network.
Purpose
To establish the rules for archiving and access privileges for searching and reviewing all electronic mail related
to County business.
Applicability
Applies to all County Departments and County Commissioners using an Orange County e-mail.
Procedure
1. Email Archiving and Retention
a. Starting July 1,2012 all emails will be archived using the Arcmail appliance or other similar
software or program installed on the Orange County network.
b. All emails saved on the Orange County network prior to the installation of the Arcmail
appliance will be in the Orange County database in accordance with established policies.
c. All emails whether archived through the Arcmail appliance or by other established processes
will be retained for the retention period established in the Orange County Records Retention
Policy.
d. The County Attorney's Office may determine from time to time a retention period for certain
categories of emails pursuant to the Orange County Records Retention Policy.
2. Access Privileges
a. Designated staff in the Orange County Human Resources Department and the County
Attorney's Office shall have the authority to access emails stored on the County's network
including the Arcmail appliance.
b. Designated staff at the Information Technologies Department shall have administrative access
to the email archival system for the purpose of configuration,trouble shooting, or routine
maintenance.
c. County employees' and County Commissioners' access to archived emails shall be limited to
emails generated and received by the particular individual, unless additional privileges are
granted pursuant to this policy.
d. Except as expressly stated herein, all other requests for access to archived emails should be
approved by the County Attorney and the Human Resources Director
3. Email Search and Review
a. Employees have no expectation of privacy in their electronic correspondence,and all employees
shall assume that information on the County's network is subject to review by the County
Attorney and/or the Human Resources Director and their designated staff.
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b. The County reserves the right to access and disclose contents of employees' and County
Commissioners' emails messages.
c. The County Attorney and the Human Resources Director, and the Staff Attorney and
Organizational Development Manager working under the supervision of the County Attorney
and Human Resources Director shall have the authority to search and review emails of all
employees and County Commissioners using the County network.
d. Designated Information Technologies staff shall have administrative access to the email
archives.
e. All employees may search and review all emails generated or received by the employee and
stored in the archival system.
f. Access to all archived emails shall be limited to the"Read Only"mode.
g. Search and review of employees' and Commissioners' archived emails by the County's
Attorney's Office, the Human Resources and Information Technologies Deaprtments shall be
prompted by a legitimate and documented business need for the information in the archived
emails, such as a public records request, disciplinary action,Arcmail training, system
maintenance by the Information Technologies Department.
h. The unauthorized viewing and/or retrieval of another person's emails and other forms of
electronic trespassing are prohibited.
4. Disclosure
a. Employees shall maintain confidentiality of all information exempt from disclosure pursuant to
the North Carolina Public Records Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act(HIPAA)and obtained through a search of archived emails.
b. Nothing in this policy shall prohibit law enforcement officials from examining email messages
in the course of an ongoing internal investigation of civil or criminal activity for alleged use or
misuse by a County employee or County Commissioner.
c. Any conduct which violates this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including
dismissal.
This policy shall be reviewed annually and updated as needed by the Attorney's and Manager's Offices
Adopted ali"Son,t day of Aug st 2012.
Frank Co anager
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