225 lines
7.7 KiB
Text
225 lines
7.7 KiB
Text
Software Freedom Conservancy Document Retention Policy
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1 Purpose
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Software Freedom Conservancy (“Conservancy”) has adopted a
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document retention and destruction policy (“Policy”) in order to
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define the record retention responsibilities of Conservancy
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officers, staff, and board members for maintaining and
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documenting the storage and destruction of Conservancy's
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documents and records.
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2 General Guidelines
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Records should not be kept if they are no longer needed for the
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operation of the business or required by law. Unnecessary records
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should be eliminated from the files. The cost of maintaining
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records is an expense which can grow unreasonably if good
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housekeeping is not performed. A mass of records also makes it
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more difficult to find pertinent records.
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From time to time, Conservancy may establish retention or
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destruction policies or schedules for additional categories of
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records in order to ensure legal compliance, and also to
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accomplish other objectives, such as cost management. Conservancy
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has identified several categories of documents that warrant
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special consideration; these categories are listed below. While
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Conservancy has established minimum retention periods for these
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categories, the retention of these documents - and of records not
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included in the identified categories - should be determined
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primarily by the application of the General Guidelines affecting
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document retention in this Section, as well as the exception for
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litigation-relevant records described in the next Section and any
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other pertinent factors.
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3 Exception for GPL Compliance and Litigation-Relevant Documents
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Conservancy expects all staff, officers, board members, and PLCs
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to comply fully with this Policy and any other written document
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retention policies, with the following notable exception to any
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stated destruction schedule: if you believe, or if Conservancy
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informs you, that certain Conservancy and/or Project records
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relate to efforts to bring companies into compliance with the
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General Public License, enforcing the GPL, or in some way relates
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to litigation or potential litigation (i.e., a dispute that could
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result in litigation), then you must preserve those records until
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it is determined that the records are no longer needed. That
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exception supersedes any previously or subsequently established
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destruction schedule for those records.
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4 Document Storage Methods
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All Conservancy documents are stored electronically in a
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version-controlled repository on a remote server that is backed
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up to drives on our local premises, with the following
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exceptions:
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• Conservancy stores all e-mails on a separate e-mail server
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• Conservancy retains hard copies of all contracts executed with
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parties outside of the United States for at least the full term
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of each contract
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5 Minimum Retention Periods for Conservancy Documents
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5.1 Organizational Documents
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The following records should be retained permanently:
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• Conservancy Articles of Incorporation
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• Conservancy By-laws
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• Conservancy's IRS Form 1023 - which is also to be made
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available for public inspection upon request
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• Board meeting minutes and supporting materials presented at Board meetings
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5.2 Tax Records
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Tax records should be retained for at least seven years from the
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date of filing the applicable return. These records include:
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• IRS Form 990 and related schedules
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• Financial audit letter and supporting documents
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• Employment tax records
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• Documents concerning payroll, expenses, proof of donor
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contributions
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• Documented accounting procedures
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5.3 Financial Records
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In general, Conservancy's financial records should be kept for at
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least seven years. These records include:
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• Accounts payable ledgers and schedules
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• Accounts receivable ledgers and schedules
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• Bank reconciliations, bank statements, deposit slips and checks
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(except for as stated below)
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• Donation records
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• Expense reimbursement requests and supporting receipts and
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documentation
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Certain important financial records are to be kept permanently.
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These records include:
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• Checks and/or proofs of payment for expenditures over
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US$100,000
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5.4 Employment/Personnel Records
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All employment and personnel records should be kept for at least
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seven years, with the following exceptions:
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• IRS Form 990 and related schedules: at least seven years from
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the date of filing the applicable return
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• Financial audit letter and supporting documents: at least seven
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years from the date of filing the applicable return
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• Employment applications and related documents (including
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correspondence and CVs from prospective candidates): at least
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three years
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• Employee offer letters, and confirmations of acceptance: kept
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permanently
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5.5 Other Corporate Records
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Other corporate records shall be kept according to the schedule
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below:
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• Insurance policies (both current and expired), claims, and
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related reports: retained permanently
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• Press releases: retained permanently
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• Trademark and copyright applications and registration
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materials: retained permanently
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• Executed fiscal sponsorship agreements: retained permanently
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• Internal strategic documents: at least three years
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• Correspondence regarding Member Project decisions,
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including disbursement requests: at least seven years
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5.6 Correspondence
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• Except as classified above, letters received in hard copy shall
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be kept for at least one year.
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• Except as classified above, e-mail correspondence in
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Conservancy e-mail accounts shall be archived for at least one
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year, with the exception of the correspondence sent to the “
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compliance@sfconservancy.org” account, which shall be archived
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for at least seven years.
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5.7 Reports from Projects
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5.8 Blogs and Press Releases
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Conservancy should retain permanent copies of all official
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Conservancy blogs and press releases.
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5.9 Contracts
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Except as classified above, all contracts entered into by
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Conservancy should be retained for at least seven years from the
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date of filing the applicable return. These records include:
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• IRS Form 990 and related schedules
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• Financial audit letter and supporting documents
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• Documents concerning payroll, expenses, proof of donor
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contributions
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• Documented accounting procedures
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5.10 Software Development Contract Deliverables
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All code and supporting documentation written by a developer in
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fulfillment of a contract with Conservancy should be archived
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electronically for at least three years.
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5.11 Presentations
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All presentations, including slides, charts, and supporting
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visual aids, prepared for use by a Conservancy officer or staff
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member shall be kept for at least two years.
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5.12 Drafts
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Notwithstanding the above, once the final copy of a document has
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been completed, the drafts may be recycled or deleted, unless
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they are documents of legal value. For documents determined to be
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of legal value, drafts containing comments shall be saved for at
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least two years, and drafts without comment may be destroyed once
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the final version is complete.
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6 Destruction of Documents
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Conservancy reserves the right to destroy hard copies of
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documents by shredding or fire after the expiration of the
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applicable document retention schedule. Conservancy reserves the
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right to destroy electronic copies of documents by fire or other
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proven means to destroy such media after the expiration of the
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applicable document retention schedule.
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All permitted document destruction shall be halted if the
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organization is being investigated by a governmental law
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enforcement agency, and routine destruction shall not be resumed
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without the written approval of Conservancy's General Counsel or
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Executive Director. No documents are to be concealed, altered, or
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destroyed with the intent to obstruct a legal investigation or
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litigation.
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