Email Records Management at Berkeley Lab

What’s going on: 

Since June 30, 2025, Berkeley Lab employees are required to follow updated records management practices under DOE Order 243.1C. This update designates certain emails and Google Groups as official records. Properly managing these records helps safeguard institutional knowledge, ensure operational support, and preserve the Lab’s mission.  We have also introduced a new option that will allow any Lab employee to opt-in and have their entire inbox captured as records.  More on that below. 

What are records: 

Records include any material—digital or physical—that documents Lab decisions, actions, or procedures, making proper management essential for compliance and accountability, and has not been documented in any other system or file.  All emails that are considered records should be labeled “.LBNL Records”, which appears at the top of their Gmail Labels list.

When making a determination on what constitutes an email record, the following characteristics should be met:  

1. Important

The email reflects a decision, approval, or direction that impacts projects, compliance, funding, or operations.

Rule of Thumb: If the email would be needed to justify or explain “why” something was done, it is important.

2. Substantive

The email contains meaningful content rather than transitory logistics.  Examples of this include: A PI describing the rationale behind a change in research methodology; A facilities manager explaining the basis for a safety procedure update; An exchange resolving a compliance or audit finding

Not Substantive: “Lunch at 12?” or calendar invites.

3. Not Documented Elsewhere

The email is the primary or only place where the information is captured.  Examples of this include: Negotiated terms with an external partner captured only in email;  Project decisions not otherwise written into a report or other system;  Technical clarifications not reflected in lab notebooks or data repositories

If the same content is in a controlled system (e.g., R&D reports, safety systems, HRIS), the email may not need to be retained as a record.

What are NOT records:

• Any notification from a lab business system is not a record – ever.
• Any email that documents a decision that is or will be maintained on a Lab business system (for example, an email to procurement that will eventually be reflected in the actual subcontract). 
• Nothing to or from an LBL google group is a record. 
• Calendar responses in your email – Invitations, acceptances, meeting announcements, meeting agendas, Zoom invitations, and other scheduling notifications
• Formal and informal announcements – System outages, drills, routine IT maintenance work, etc. 
• Any Google notifications of updates on shared documents/sheets
• Personal emails including anything unrelated to Lab business
• Newsletters/Listservs and junk mail

Easy Solution: Use AI to Automatically Mark Email Records

To help streamline records management and make it easier for staff to identify and retain email records, Google Workspace now supports a new feature called Workspace Studio Flow that utilizes AI to automatically apply the label “.LBNL Records” to messages that meet the definition of an email record. Once turned on, it runs entirely in your account and labels qualifying emails in real time, helping you stay compliant with records requirements with minimal effort.

To create the Email Records Flow, please follow this link, and follow the process described in the page. You can learn more about enabling this feature in the RMO-100 training module. 

Beyond email records, Google Workspace Studio Flows allows users to automate routine tasks in Gmail, Drive, and other Workspace apps—without any scripting or technical setup. Flows let you trigger actions based on simple conditions (such as labeling, routing, or organizing content), helping you reduce manual steps and keep your digital workspace tidy and efficient. Many employees may find additional uses for Flows beyond records management, from inbox organization to workflow reminders.

Another Approach: Opt in

Lab employees now have the option to have their entire inbox automatically captured as records. If you choose this option, all of your sent and received emails will be added to the Lab records database for you.  This means you won’t need to manually apply the .LBNL Records label.

Please note, if you request this option, you will not be able to remove individual emails from the records database.  Once you opt in, all of your emails in your inbox (sent and received) will be captured as records. 

You can make this request by completing this form: go.lbl.gov/rmo-autoemail. 

IT policy has also created a comprehensive Email Records Management FAQ on email records management for any additional questions or concerns. For more information, please email ITpolicy@lbl.gov directly.

Electronic Records Management FAQYou can access the new FAQ for Electronic Records Management using this link.  The FAQ covers the topic of email records as well as other record management responsibilities.