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Your Responsibility to Preserve Evidence

A guide to protecting the facts of your case.

Once you anticipate filing a legal claim, you have a legal duty to preserve all information and evidence that could be relevant to your case. Failure to do so, even accidentally, can severely damage or even destroy your legal claims. Please read the following instructions carefully.

What is "Evidence"?

Evidence includes a wide range of information. You must preserve anything related to your employment, your claims, and the damages you have suffered. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Digital Communications: All emails, text messages, voicemails, instant messages (from platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams), and social media posts or direct messages.
  • Documents: Both digital files and paper copies of performance reviews, employment contracts, offer letters, employee handbooks, disciplinary warnings, personal notes, or journals.
  • Electronic Devices: Old cell phones, laptops, tablets, or hard drives, even if you are no longer using them. Do not throw them away.

What Does "Preserve" Mean?

Preserving evidence means you must take active steps to protect it.

  • DO NOT DELETE. This is the most important rule. Do not delete emails, text messages, social media posts, photos, or any other documents.
  • DO NOT ALTER. Do not change or modify any existing documents.
  • DO NOT "CLEAN UP" YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA. Assume that all of your social media posts, messages, and text messages are discoverable, meaning they can be requested by the opposing party to be used as evidence. Do not delete old posts or photos, as this can be seen as destroying evidence.
  • TURN OFF AUTO-DELETE FEATURES. If your phone or email has a feature that automatically deletes old messages, you must turn it off now.

When in doubt, save it.

A Critical New Habit: Be Mindful Online

From this point forward, operate under the assumption that anything you post on social media could be seen by the opposing party. Do not post anything related to your case, your claims, your emotions about the case, or your former employer. The safest approach is to be mindful and cautious with all online activity until your case is resolved.

Your Next Step

If you have physical or digital copies of documents you believe are important, please gather them and keep them in a safe place. Let your Case Manager know what you have, and we will provide instructions on how to send the materials to us securely.