5 FAH-1 H-900
working emails
5 FAH-1 h-910
general
(CT:CH-33; 01-16-2014)
(Office of Origin: IRM/OPS/MSO/MD)
5 FAH-1 H-911 Purpose
(CT:CH-33; 01-16-2014)
This handbook prescribes the basic procedures and practices for the efficient and secure management of working emails of the Department of State and at Foreign Service posts. It is intended for the use of officers, supervisors, or other personnel who are directly or indirectly responsible for working emails.
5 FAH-1 H-912 Scope
(CT:CH-33; 01-16-2014)
The guidelines and procedures contained in this handbook pertain to the creation and use of working emails. Unless specifically stated, these working email procedures pertain to both Department offices and posts abroad.
5 FAH-1 H-913 Working Emails
(CT:CH-33; 01-16-2014)
In SMART, working emails are messages without long-term record value. Generally transitory in nature, working emails can include notes or working drafts that do not add to a proper understanding of Department of State policies and actions, as well as nonrecord copies of material kept only for reference. Working emails include the following:
(1) Documentation of routine activities containing no substantive information, such as routine notifications of meetings, scheduling of work-related trips and visits, and other scheduling-related activities;
(2) Drafts that do not add to a proper understanding of the formulation and execution of basic policies, decisions, actions, or responsibilities;
(3) Quasi-official notices including memoranda and other records that do not serve as the basis of official actions, such as notices of holidays or charity and welfare fund appeals, bond campaigns, and similar records;
(4) Material retained for reference while working on a project that is no longer needed when the project is complete, provided the material does not warrant long-term preservation; and
(5) Personal exchanges unrelated to official business.
5 FAH-1 h-914 Sending Working Emails
(CT:CH-33; 01-16-2014)
The following examples provide various scenarios in which Department employees would send a working email:
(1) You are a supervisor rescheduling your section’s regular weekly meeting time;
(2) You are sending a comment about the Department of State Web site to the Office of eDiplomacy for use in a series of “Online Interviews”; and
(3) You are sending a personal message to a few friends coordinating a trip to a baseball game.
5 FAH-1 H-915 DRAFTING WORKING EMAILS
(CT:CH-33; 01-16-2014)
a. All working emails must be marked with the appropriate classification and sensitivity.
b. The overall classification reflects the highest classification level of the message (subject, paragraph, table, or graph).
c. Mark each element (e.g., subject line, paragraph) of a classified working email to show its appropriate classification level using (S) for Secret, (C) for Confidential, (SBU) for Sensitive but Unclassified, or (U) for Unclassified.
d. Top Secret working emails may only be sent via a Department network authorized for that level.
e. All working emails in the OpenNet environment will be marked automatically as unclassified. If classified security information, properly marked or not, is processed on OpenNet or unclassified (U) systems, it must be reported immediately as a security violation. See 12 FAM 550.
f. All messages in the ClassNet environment must be marked with the appropriate classification every time a working email is sent or a recipient replies. For more information about classification, see 12 FAM 510.
g. All sensitive, working emails on both OpenNet and ClassNet must be marked with a sensitivity choice so the message will be labeled appropriately.
h. SMART-to-SMART messages only: Working email replies and forwards inherit the classification and sensitivity of the original message. Classified, working emails without sensitive content should be marked Non-Sensitive. For more information about sensitivity, see 5 FAH-1 H-913 or 12 FAM 540.
i. Do not use Outlook's stationery feature with SMART. Using stationery prevents SMART from being able to properly parse the message body and causes the message body to be stripped. Outlook stationery attaches an image to emails that is interpreted by the SMART Client as a message attachment that requires classification.
5 FAH-1 H-916 Working Email Sensitivity
(CT:CH-33; 01-16-2014)
You must apply a Sensitivity marking to working emails in SMART. If you do not select a Sensitivity marker when you draft the message, you will be prompted to apply one when you attempt to send the message. Sensitivity options in SMART are:
(1) Sensitive: Select Sensitive when the message warrants administrative control and protection from public or other unauthorized disclosure for reasons other than national security risk. This marking is used to cover all previous sensitivities not covered under Privacy/PII (e.g., attorney-client privilege, contracting and acquisitions, visa issuance, law enforcement, infrastructure protection, etc.);
(2) Non-sensitive: Does not meet requirements for an SBU category;
(3) Privacy/PII: Personnel, payroll, medical, passport, adoption, and other personal information about individuals, including Social Security numbers and home addresses, and including information about employees as well as members of the public;
(4) C/FGI-Mod (Classified/ Foreign Government Information – Modified): This marking is used to appropriately mark working emails sent on OpenNet between Department of State users and their counterparts in foreign governments. Although the C/FGI-Mod acronym implies a “classified” level, the information to which C/FGI-Mod refers to is considered unclassified under Diplomatic Security guidelines. Refer to SMART Online Help for information on how to apply this marking; and
(5) Personal: Not associated with official Department of State business. Personal email is offered as a courtesy to Department employees and should be limited.
NOTE: Do not use Outlook’s Personal marking, available from the Options group launcher. The message will not be marked Personal when printed.
5 FAH-1 H-917 CONVERTING WORKING EMAILS TO ARCHIVE MESSAGES
(CT:CH-33; 01-16-2014)
a. A message thread may begin as a working email, but may become a record email because it contains content with long-term value. Employees are responsible for converting their working emails to record emails as circumstances warrant. Working emails can be converted to archive messages at any time.
b. Others involved in the message thread should be advised when a working email thread will be converted to an archive message. Irrelevant parts of the working email can be stripped before sending the new archive message to ensure only pertinent information is stored in the archive.
5 FAH-1 H-918 MANAGING WORKING EMAILS
(CT:CH-33; 01-16-2014)
a. Working emails should be stored, managed, and deleted in accordance with Department policies. For example, file types in attachments must comply with Department security rules and size limits may be placed on users’ mailboxes.
b. Working emails are subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Department staff must follow instructions from the Office of the Legal Adviser (L), Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), and the Bureau of Administration (A) related to searching, preserving, collecting, and retaining working emails for FOIA requests.
5 FAH-1 H-919 unassigned