TSLAC Guidance for Records Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic

(Author: Rebecca Hanna, Coauthor: Erica Siegrist) In April 2020, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) released answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Records Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic. This article will answer the same questions to provide Texas-specific guidance for state agencies and local governments. Records Management Related to Teleworking How should Texas…

COVID-19 Health Screening Records

by Erica Rice Note: This article only applies to local governments and state agencies that are not healthcare providers. Any public health agencies, public hospitals, or health departments should follow the retention periods in Schedule HR (for local governments) or in their specific agency retention schedule. Since the start of the 2020 pandemic, many organizations…

Off the Record: Cybersecurity and COVID-19

By Rebecca Hanna, Anne Poulos, and Brady Cox Tune in monthly for a curated collection of articles we found interesting on a broad range of topics, some which are directly related to records management and others which might share common themes. No, we didn’t write these articles—hence the name of this series, “Off the Record”—but…

Teams

Creating Records at Home, Part I: Microsoft Teams

by Erica Rice [Edited 7/16/20: This post was updated to include new information about applying retention policies in Teams.] The great Dr. Patricia C. Franks once wrote, “Records and information managers who understand the way work is conducted in their organizations have a better chance of identifying and providing intellectual and/or physical control over the…

Off the Record: Zoom Trials

Tune in monthly for a curated collection of articles we found interesting on a broad range of topics; some which are directly related to records management and others which might share common themes. No, we didn’t write these articles —hence the name of this series, “Off the Record”— fortunately, we didn’t need to in order…

COVID-19 Records and How Long to Keep Them

by Erica Rice [Updated 7/6/2020]: On July 2, 2020, the U.S. Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued guidance requiring that all Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act grant documentation be retained for 5 years. Visit the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s website for more information about CARES funds. The analysts here at TSLAC…