What’s an email disclaimer?

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An email disclaimer is a statement added to the bottom of an email to limit a company’s liability in the event of a problem or lawsuit. While an email disclaimer won’t prevent a company from being sued, it can help dissuade people from suing in the first place. An email disclaimer can also show the court that the company took action to try to prevent the problem from happening in the first place. Common examples of email disclaimers are those that state that a company is not responsible for any viruses that may come from an employee email, or that the recipient of the email is prohibited from sharing sensitive information found at the inside of the message.

The types of email disclaimers vary depending on what the business is trying to protect. Common examples include confidential information, the actions of a company’s employees, and contract limitation rules. Companies can add an email disclaimer to all emails stating that employees cannot enter into a contract without first approving it through the company and stating that the company is not held liable if an employee sends a virus or other inappropriate information through the company’s email system.

The idea behind the email disclaimer is simply to state that the company has done its best to prevent inaccurate or dangerous information from making its way into the email system, but that the company is not liable if it does. To back this up, the company should institute an employee policy with rules that make it very clear what the employee can and cannot do through the company’s email system. If taken to court, the company can present both the disclaimer and the email policy as evidence that it has taken all necessary steps to prevent problems from occurring.

While email disclaimers can help protect a business, they’re not foolproof. If the company breaks the law or is sued, the email disclaimer may or may not protect it in court. It does not serve as a legal statement, but rather as a sign that the company has taken all available measures to prevent illegal actions.

Another important way a business can protect itself is to make sure the email disclaimer is short, easy to understand, and easily identifiable so that it doesn’t get confused with the regular text of the email. Disclaimers with different colored fonts or with large font sizes will draw attention to themselves. A business should consult an attorney or other legal counsel if it needs help writing an email disclaimer. If the company believes it is at high risk of being sued, it should take other, more legally binding steps to prevent problems from arising.

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