What Creates a Duty to Retain Documents?
A legal duty to retain documents may arise from a number of sources, including: • Statutes and Regulations. A number of laws expressly require that documents be retained for specified periods of time, including: • the Internal Revenue Code; • state and federal environmental statutes; • labor and employment laws; • criminal statutes that punish obstruction; • the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related SEC regulations, which, among other requirements, mandate that auditors maintain workpapers and other audit or review records for seven years from the conclusion of the audit or review; • industry-specific statutes and regulations that impose unique document retention requirements; • statutes of limitations that indirectly impose document retention obligations by making certain documents, such as contracts and personnel files, relevant to potential disputes that may remain dormant until the statutory period for bringing suit passes; and • codes of ethics and professional rules, which may r
