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In-Depth Information
It's important for employers to be familiar with all relevant federal and state record
retention laws. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, for example, covered employers must retain personnel or
employment records they made or keep them for one year from the date the record
was made or from when an action was taken (e.g., termination), whichever is later.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), also has separate retention
standards for records containing specific employee information. To further
complicate things, separate rules also apply for different categories of employers.
Employment agencies for example, must keep records on placements, referrals, job
orders by employers, applications, test papers completed by applicants as part of the
selection process, and advertisements or notices relating to job openings.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
also have separate, rigid requirements for retention of certain documents relating to
an individual's employment, such as payroll slips, timesheets or others documents
on which wage computations are based, any records relating to any leave time the
employee has taken, and documentation of employee benefits.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which changed the statute of limitations on when
an employee can file a pay discrimination claim, does retain some limits on employer
liability by restricting back-pay awards to two years, but employer questions and
concerns will still arise, particularly regarding record retention requirements since
claims can be filed based on decisions made years earlier.
The following are some of the federal employment laws that employers should look at
to make sure they are keeping documents long enough to meet the laws' requirements
or to cover the period of time in which an employee can file suit under the laws: Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), COBRA, Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), Occupational Health and
Safety Act (OSH Act), National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA), Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), Equal Pay
Act (EPA), and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
There are also record retention requirements for documents such as EEO-1 (Equal
Employment Opportunity) reports and tax records.
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