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QUESTION

How has the email retention policy changed for non-policy makers without a litigation hold?

5:00:17

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New York City's email retention policy change for non-policy makers who left before 2019 now mandates a 3-year retention period, down from 8 years, to reduce storage costs.

The policy shift applies specifically to non-policy makers without a litigation hold who left city government before 2019.
For those still in city government, their emails will be retained for the original 8-year period.
The change was made to alleviate the $80 million annual storage cost.
Before 2017, New York City did not have an email policy, resulting in emails being kept indefinitely, which was deemed impractical and costly.
The update to a 3-year retention marks a recent shift aimed at making email storage more manageable and cost-efficient.

Lincoln Restler

5:00:17

Just to make sure that I'm following, the the shift in policy is that for non policy makers who do not have a litigation hold on the specific email correspondence.

5:00:30

That email had been retained for a period of 8 years, and now that is being retained for a period of 3 years.

5:00:37

And there's a process by before it's ultimately, you know, eliminated or destroyed, but that is the shift to avoid the cost of storage, which is approximately $80,000,000 a year.

Pauline Toole

5:00:54

Yeah.

5:00:54

And there were 2 points of clarification.

5:00:57

1 is this this email of role b, so non policy makers who left city government before 2019.

5:01:03

So those non policy makers who still are in city government, their email will be retained for the requisite period of time, the the 8 years.

5:01:12

And the other pieces, no.

5:01:15

It's not that email was being kept for 8 years.

5:01:22

Doris, in concert with many record managers at agencies throughout the city and the law department, we developed an email policy up up until 2000 and 17, there wasn't an email policy in New York City.

5:01:40

Everything lasted for forever, which is a huge waste of time and money and finding things.

5:01:47

How could you possibly find things?

5:01:49

So, I mean, this is this seemed to us to be a sensible approach.

Lincoln Restler

5:01:55

Yes.

5:01:55

I I understood, but it was in the last year that the determination was made in the shift of the amount of time those emails are kept.

5:02:02

From 38 to 3 years.

5:02:04

So prior to 2017 or whenever that was, it was everything was kept in perpetuity.

5:02:08

Whenever.

5:02:09

And it was kept for 8 years.

5:02:10

Now it's or 3, for the emails that meet the categories that you described.

Pauline Toole

5:02:13

People who have left.

Lincoln Restler

5:02:14

People who have left to the government who are non policy makers, who don't have a litigation hold on the specific court.

Pauline Toole

5:02:18

Yes.

5:02:19

That cohort.

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