Date and Time
Wednesday, September 23, 9:40 a.m. - 10:25 a.m.
Commonwealth Room, 50 Washington Street, Westborough
Session Description
Every email, text, and chat message you send at work may be a public record - and if it is, it can be requested, produced in litigation, or quoted in a news story. This session walks us through what that means day to day and what to do about it.
We start with the Massachusetts Public Records Law: what actually counts as a record, who and what the law applies to, the common exemptions, and what to do the moment a request lands in your inbox.
From there we cover records retention: the schedules and guidelines, who is responsible, and why routine, disciplined destruction is what keeps searching and producing records manageable. We look at discovery and litigation holds, and what changes the moment litigation is anticipated.
The second half turns to email and information security. Mailboxes are a primary target because of what people leave in them, so we examine why attackers go after email, what digital hoarding costs the University, and four practical habits that measurably reduce risk: move records to systems of record, delete unnecessary attachments, share access instead of attachments, and prioritize the highest-risk data first. We close with media inquiries, external requests, and the public-versus-private line on social media.
You'll leave able to: recognize a public record in your own work, route a request correctly, apply retention schedules with confidence, respond appropriately to a litigation hold, and keep sensitive data out of your inbox..
Session Documents
Speaker Bio
John Roy
John Roy serves as the Director of Compensation for the UMass President's Office. He has worked for the President's Office since October 2018. His prior positions include:
- Director of Compensation for the Chan Medical School since January 2006.
- Over 20 years as a Compensation Professional in the High Technology Industry with corporations such as EMC, Data General, Digital Equipment,
- Compensation Specialist for the City of Waltham.
John holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Vermont and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
John serves on the Executive Compensation and Benefits Advisory Committee of the College and University Professional Association (CUPA) and is a long-time member of the World At Work (WAW) Total Rewards Association.
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