There is, as you would expect, wide variety to the creation and application of collections policies from one corporation to another.  AASLH established their Corporate History affinity group as a way to connect corporate history professionals and to encourage high-quality professional museum practice in the corporate world.   I suggest that you check out the group
http://aaslh.org/statements.html

 

As for my particular experience, our corporate museum and archives adopted a collections policy a few years ago. It bears great resemblence to the collections policies of non-profit museums with which I have worked. There are unique stipulations regarding closed archives, liberties given for use of some of the collections, and other specific guidelines that are particular to the organization - a family-owned company.  To answer your question, the collections policy itself should not put you in legal hot water, it should do precisely the oposite.  The collections policy leans heavily on how things are to be collected, in addition to what is being collected.  In forming a collections policy, the legal, accounting, HR and other critical departments must provide input to ensure that 1. Any legal issues are reconciled by the acquisition/management/deaccessioning protocols, and 2. Each department is invested in (and recognizes the value of) the corporate collection/archive. 

 

Chairman, AASLH Corporate History Affinity Group