This post is part of The Datamation Guide to Human Resources Records.
One of the many roles of the Human Resource department in your company is to ensure that compliance is being maintained. Complying with local, state, and federal laws is vital to protecting your organization, especially during lawsuits and investigations. Many of these regulations entail keeping certain employee records on hand for a specified amount of time, even if that employee has retired or has been terminated. As more employees leave the company for one reason or another, in addition to those who stay, the number of paper documents that must be on hand just gets bigger and bigger. How do you know what to throw out, and when?
A good example of one such document is an I-9 form. These forms serve as a record that verifies both the employees identity and their authorization to work in the United States. It is recommended that these forms are kept separate from personnel files, and they must be kept on file for both active and terminated employees. I-9 forms must be kept for three years after the hire date, or one year after the date employment ends—whichever comes later.
When you think of that in terms of paper, think of the number of employees who have at least one sheet of paper dedicated to just that record. You also have to think about the fact that that specific paperwork cant even be stored in the employees personnel file—it needs its very own space.
When these records are maintained in paper form, they may be difficult to find, but the more likely scenario is that they are difficult to keep an eye on when it comes to retention. If certain documents are kept for too long, it may be considered an invasion of privacy for an employee who has long since stopped working in your company. On the other hand, if a document is thrown out too soon, it may leave your company open to lawsuits and unpreparedness in case of an investigation. This makes it extremely important to know how long to keep a certain record.
When you scan and store these records electronically, Datamation can keep track of that retention window for you, automatically alerting you when a document can be disposed of. This makes sure that every record, like an I-9 form, is kept as long as it needs to be kept, and no longer. It also protects your company from lawsuits and makes sure that you are prepared for investigations. Besides this major benefit, scanning your HR records with Datamation will save your company time, money, and space.
Call Datamation today at (630) 321-0601 to get your free quote.
