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The procedures to follow when a Legal Hold Notice is issued are the following:
- Once a Legal Hold Notice has been issued, records subject to the Notice must be preserved until a Release Notice is issued. Retention schedules for these materials are superseded. Records that are subject to a Legal Hold Notice or that are reasonably likely to be relevant to any pending or anticipated legal proceeding, investigation, or audit must not, under any circumstances, be altered, mutilated, concealed, deleted, destroyed, or otherwise disposed of without the specific authorization of counsel.
- Recipients of Legal Hold Notices must confirm receipt of the Notice and compliance, as requested by counsel. Recipients should also notify counsel if additional distribution is necessary to other employees or parties.
- Any employee or party who maintains or controls records subject to the Legal Hold Notice shall manage those items to ensure that they are retained in their original form. Any duplicate of a record that has been altered or annotated in any way is a distinct record and must be retained. If records or items covered by the legal hold are subsequently received, they must also be retained.
- Failure to preserve a record subject to a Legal Hold Notice can subject the Postal Service and employees to fines, sanctions, and other legal penalties.
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