Sookman said that for this reason, some companies are keeping e-mail in a separate backup file. That file is kept for 30 days and then purged so the e-mail messages can't be recovered. David Jones, a computer science professor at McMaster University, said the law requires companies to keep paper records for a certain length of time. Then they can be and are destroyed. Jones also pointed out another aspect of e-mail that is often overlooked.
People tend to send two types of messages.
The first are the formal work-related messages that must be kept for a planned period of time. Management has the right to look at an employee's e-mail, Jones said. After all, it is used for company business. If someone is sick or away on business, the company may need to check the information. They may discover a lot of personal information that should not be there.