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Data Retention and Archiving Policy

Policy Status: Draft

This policy is currently draft.

Policy Status: Draft

This policy is currently draft.

Purpose

To manage the retention and secure archiving of data in compliance with regulatory requirements, legal obligations, and business needs, while ensuring efficient storage management and the secure disposal of data that is no longer required.

Scope

This policy applies to all digital and physical data generated, collected, processed, or stored by Acme Corp, including: - Student information and educational records - Financial and accounting records - Employee records and HR data - Contracts and legal documents - System logs and audit trails - Communications and correspondence - Research and analytical data

This policy covers all data storage media including cloud storage, servers, databases, backups, removable media, and physical documents.

Policy Statement

Data Retention Principles

Acme Corp's data retention practices are guided by the following principles:

  • Regulatory Compliance: Retain data as required by applicable laws and regulations
  • Business Need: Retain data necessary for ongoing business operations and decision-making
  • Legal Holds: Preserve data subject to litigation, investigations, or regulatory requests
  • Privacy Minimization: Delete personal data when no longer needed, consistent with privacy principles
  • Cost Efficiency: Balance retention requirements with storage costs
  • Secure Disposal: Ensure secure destruction of data when retention period expires

Data Classification and Retention Periods

All data must be classified and retained according to the following schedule:

Student Educational Records (FERPA Protected): - Current student records: Duration of enrollment plus 7 years - Transcripts: Permanent retention - Enrollment and attendance records: 7 years after student departure - Disciplinary records: 7 years after resolution - Special education records: 7 years after student reaches age 21

Financial Records: - Accounts payable/receivable: 7 years - Bank statements and reconciliations: 7 years - Tax returns and supporting documentation: 7 years (or as required by tax law) - Payroll records: 7 years - Contracts and agreements: 7 years after expiration or termination - Audit reports: Permanent retention

Employee and HR Records: - Personnel files (active employees): Duration of employment plus 7 years - Employment applications (hired): 3 years - Employment applications (not hired): 1 year - I-9 forms: 3 years after hire or 1 year after separation, whichever is later - Payroll and benefits: 7 years - Performance reviews: 3 years after employment ends

Operational Data: - System logs and access logs: 1 year - Application error logs: 6 months - Website analytics: 2 years - Customer support tickets: 3 years - Project documentation: 3 years after project completion

Legal and Compliance: - Litigation records: 7 years after case closure (or per legal hold) - Regulatory correspondence: 7 years - Policy documents: Permanent retention (superseded versions archived for 7 years) - Compliance audit reports: 7 years

Communications: - Email (business-related): 3 years - Email (student-related): 7 years - Instant messages (Slack): 90 days (unless business-critical, then 3 years) - Meeting recordings: 90 days (unless needed for training/compliance, then 3 years)

Secure Archiving Requirements

Data moved to archival storage must meet these requirements:

  • Access Control: Archived data protected with role-based access controls
  • Encryption: All archived data encrypted at rest using AES-256 or equivalent
  • Integrity: Use checksums or digital signatures to verify data integrity
  • Indexing: Maintain searchable index to locate archived data when needed
  • Storage Media: Use reliable, long-term storage media appropriate for retention period
  • Redundancy: Archived data stored in at least two geographically separate locations
  • Format Preservation: Ensure data remains accessible in usable format throughout retention period
  • Regular Testing: Quarterly verification that archived data can be successfully retrieved

Data Disposal and Destruction

When data reaches end of retention period or is no longer needed:

Digital Data Disposal: - Use secure deletion methods (overwriting or cryptographic erasure) - For cloud storage, use provider's certified deletion process - Destroy all backup copies and redundant data - Document disposal in data destruction log - For highly sensitive data, use NIST 800-88 compliant methods

Physical Media Disposal: - Hard drives and storage devices: Physical destruction or degaussing - Paper documents: Cross-cut shredding or professional document destruction service - Optical media (CDs/DVDs): Physical destruction - Mobile devices: Factory reset followed by physical destruction if containing sensitive data - Certificate of destruction obtained for outsourced destruction services

Verification: - IT team verifies complete data removal - Document all disposals with date, data type, method, and responsible party - Retain disposal records for 3 years

When litigation, investigation, or audit is anticipated or commenced:

  • Immediate Suspension: Suspend normal retention schedules for affected data
  • Preservation Notice: Issue written preservation notice to all custodians of relevant data
  • Scope Definition: Clearly define what data must be preserved
  • Tracking: Maintain register of all active legal holds
  • Release Process: Formal process to release legal hold when matter concludes
  • Documentation: Document all legal hold activities and communications

Exception Handling

Data may be retained longer than standard periods when: - Required by legal hold or regulatory requirement - Needed for ongoing business operations with documented justification - Subject to contractual retention obligations - Approved by Compliance Officer with documented business need

Data may be disposed earlier than standard periods only when: - Approved by Legal Counsel - Documented business justification provided - No legal holds or pending litigation exist - Compliance Officer approval obtained

Roles and Responsibilities

Role Responsibility
Chief Compliance Officer Overall accountability for retention program, approve retention schedules and exceptions
Legal Counsel Define legal requirements, manage legal holds, approve early disposals
IT Team Implement technical controls for archiving and disposal, execute secure deletion
Records Manager Maintain retention schedules, coordinate archiving activities, track legal holds
Department Heads Ensure compliance within their departments, identify business-critical records
All Employees Follow retention guidelines, respond to legal holds, do not delete data under preservation
Data Owners Classify data, determine business retention needs for their data sets
Compliance Team Monitor compliance, conduct audits, update retention schedules as regulations change

Procedures

Data Lifecycle Management

  1. Data Creation/Collection: Classify data according to retention schedule at time of creation
  2. Active Use: Store in primary systems with regular backups
  3. Reduced Access: Move to archival storage when no longer actively accessed
  4. Retention Monitoring: Automated systems track retention periods and trigger disposition reviews
  5. Disposition Review: Quarterly review of data eligible for disposal
  6. Secure Disposal: Execute approved disposal using documented procedures
  7. Documentation: Log all archival and disposal activities

Implementing Retention Schedules

  1. Data Discovery: Identify all data repositories and data types
  2. Classification: Classify data according to retention schedule categories
  3. Tagging: Apply retention metadata/tags to data sets
  4. Automation: Configure automated retention policies in storage systems
  5. Monitoring: Regular audits to verify retention schedules properly applied
  6. Updates: Review and update retention schedules annually or when regulations change

Archiving Process

  1. Identification: Identify data ready for archival (not accessed in past 6 months)
  2. Validation: Verify data integrity and completeness before archiving
  3. Transfer: Move data to archival storage system
  4. Encryption: Ensure archived data properly encrypted
  5. Indexing: Create metadata index for archived data
  6. Verification: Confirm successful archive and data retrievability
  7. Primary Deletion: Remove data from primary systems after successful archival
  8. Documentation: Record archival details in archival log

Secure Disposal Process

  1. Eligibility Review: Identify data that has exceeded retention period
  2. Legal Check: Verify no legal holds or pending litigation exist
  3. Business Review: Confirm no ongoing business need for data
  4. Approval: Obtain required approvals from Compliance and Legal
  5. Disposal Execution: Execute secure disposal using appropriate method
  6. Verification: Verify complete removal of data
  7. Documentation: Create disposal record with details and approvals
  8. Certificate: Obtain certificate of destruction if using third-party service
  1. Notification: Legal Counsel issues legal hold notice
  2. Scope Definition: Define data, systems, and custodians affected
  3. Communication: Notify all data custodians of preservation obligation
  4. Suspension: Suspend automated deletion for affected data
  5. Segregation: Separate or tag preserved data
  6. Monitoring: Regular compliance checks that data remains preserved
  7. Release: Formal release process when hold lifted
  8. Documentation: Maintain complete record of hold activities

Retrieval from Archive

  1. Request: Submit formal request with business justification
  2. Approval: Manager or Legal approval required
  3. Locate: Use archival index to locate requested data
  4. Retrieve: Extract data from archival storage
  5. Validate: Verify data integrity and completeness
  6. Deliver: Provide data to requester in usable format
  7. Access Log: Document retrieval for audit purposes
  8. Re-archive: Return data to archive if ongoing need completed

Exceptions

Exceptions to retention schedules require: - Written request with detailed business or legal justification - Review by Legal Counsel for compliance implications - Approval by Chief Compliance Officer - Documentation in exceptions register - Annual review of ongoing necessity - Automatic expiration after 1 year unless renewed

Compliance and Enforcement

  • Automated Enforcement: Use data lifecycle management tools to automate retention and disposal
  • Regular Audits: Quarterly audits of retention compliance across all systems
  • Metrics Tracking: Monitor key metrics including:
  • Percentage of data properly classified
  • Timely disposal rate
  • Legal hold compliance rate
  • Archive retrieval success rate
  • Annual Certification: Department heads certify compliance with retention requirements annually
  • Regulatory Audits: Maintain evidence of compliance for regulatory examinations
  • Violations: Non-compliance may result in:
  • Mandatory training and corrective action
  • Disciplinary action for intentional violations
  • Legal consequences for spoliation or regulatory violations
  • Continuous Improvement: Regular review of retention practices and technology improvements

References

  • FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) - 34 CFR Part 99
  • HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules - 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164
  • IRS Record Retention Guidelines
  • SOC 2 Trust Service Criteria
  • NIST SP 800-88: Guidelines for Media Sanitization
  • State-specific retention requirements for educational institutions
  • DOL Record Retention Requirements (29 CFR)

Revision History

Version Date Author Changes
1.0 2025-11-08 Compliance Team Initial version migrated from Notion

Document Control - Classification: Internal/Confidential - Distribution: All employees, legal team, compliance team, IT team - Storage: GitHub repository - policy-repository