Can a federal employee be personally disciplined for destroying records that are subject to a FOIA request?

Short answer: Yes

A federal employee can face personal consequences for destroying records, and the stakes rise sharply when those records are the subject of a pending FOIA request. Depending on the facts, exposure ranges from internal administrative discipline up to criminal liability.

Why records are protected once a FOIA request lands

Under the Federal Records Act, federal records may only be destroyed under an approved records schedule. Disposing of records outside that authorized process is unlawful regardless of whether anyone has asked for them.

A FOIA request adds a separate, powerful obligation. Once an agency knows specific records are responsive to a request, those records generally must be preserved while the request and any appeal or litigation are pending. Destroying them at that point can be treated as obstruction of the access process, not just a recordkeeping lapse.

What “personal discipline” can look like

Accountability typically operates on more than one level:

• Administrative discipline. An employee may face reprimand, suspension, demotion, or removal under agency personnel rules for knowingly destroying records contrary to law or policy.
• Criminal exposure. Federal law makes it a crime to willfully conceal, remove, mutilate, or destroy federal records. Separate obstruction-of-justice statutes can apply if the destruction is meant to defeat an investigation or legal proceeding. These penalties attach to the individual, not only the agency.

Intent matters. A good-faith disposal under an approved schedule is very different from deliberately purging records to keep them from a requester.

Practical guidance

• When you learn a record may be responsive to a FOIA request, stop any routine destruction of it (a litigation/preservation hold).
• Never delete, alter, or “clean up” records because a request is pending.
• Document your preservation steps and escalate questions to your records officer or FOIA office promptly.

Records and IG professionals play a central role here, ensuring holds are issued and honored so that lawful disposition never becomes unlawful destruction.

Learn more on the FOIA and public records hub.