Personnel Document Retention: What to Keep & What to Shred

Summary

As an HR professional, you have the primary responsibility for retention and disposal of employee and applicant records. The process of organizing, saving, and destroying company records can be confusing even for a seasoned professional. Save too many files, and your company will pay unnecessary storage fees. Accidentally destroy certain information and you could be vulnerable to costly fines with the Department of Labor or be unprepared in the event of a lawsuit.

Join us to gain valuable insight into how to implement an organized and legally compliant document retention policy, and the legal dos and don’ts for managing your personnel files. Ensure you’re in compliance and ready if you should be targeted for an OFCCP audit, EEOC investigation, DOL probe or OSHA inspection. During this 75-minute, information-packed webinar you will discover:

• Best practices for gathering, storing & disposing personnel records
• Federal & state laws & the impact on your destruction policy
• Electronic vs paper records & the different guidelines for each
• Medical record retention obligations under FMLA, ADA & HIPAA
• The latest guidance on I-9, COBRA & other critical personnel records

Program Highlights

Storing & Destroying Employee Records: Guidelines for HR Professionals

• When to get rid of applicant files and former or terminated employee files
• Where should you retain your records? Who should have access to them?
• Document timeline – retention periods for specific documents
• Best practices to safely destroy personnel files
• Documents to keep in your personnel files & those to keep as separate files

Documentation requirements for terminated employees – what you must keep

• Federal Requirements for Personnel Records: What’s Required by Law
• EEOC & other litigation – considerations for document retention
• New I-9 rules and E-verify records disposal
• Workplace safety documents required by OSHA
• COBRA record retention requirements
• FMLA, ADA & HIPAA – special considerations for medical records
• Resources available for state specific retention & destruction requirements
• How to handle documents that fall outside the scope of state & federal mandates

Personnel Records Safe Practices: Reduce Risk & Avoid Legal Liability

• How electronic storage requirements differ from paper
• What types of records can and can’t be stored electronically
• Keys to safeguarding against identity theft
• What are an employee’s rights to review their personnel file
• How to avoid potential pitfalls with the DOL
• Security protocols for confidential information – protect your company
• Document retention when current or impending litigation

Question and Answer Session – Hear expert answers to real-world questions!

About the Speaker

Max Muller has more than 40 years of business experience as an attorney, businessman and professional trainer.

• In 1990, drawing on his diverse background, he began a consulting practice focusing on providing practical solutions in the areas of workplace legalities, e.g., equal employment opportunity, sexual harassment, FMLA, ADA, COBRA, FLSA, ADEA, etc.; safety and health regulatory compliance (OSHA); facilities management; and, warehousing/inventory control.
• He authored several books like “The Manager’s Guide to HR: Hiring, Firing, Performance Evaluations, Documentation, Benefits, and Everything Else You Need to Know, Second Edition” AMACOM Books (now HarperCollins Leadership) and SHRM, New York City, August 2013.

Program Benefits

Discover the latest guidelines for personnel record retention and destruction and the federal laws impacting your records.