Summer 2005
SHRED IT, BURN IT, BUT DON'T THROW IT AWAY:
New Law
Mandates Permanent Destruction for
Disposing of Confidential Employment Documents
Commencing June 1, 2005, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT) requires employers disposing of employment documents containing confidential personal information to do so by shredding or burning them. By so doing, employee personal information, such as social security numbers, addresses, telephone numbers, and other confidential information obtained from consumer reporting agencies, will be permanently protected from disclosure or from falling into unauthorized hands.
The new rules extend to computer disks and other tangible media. Hence, confidential information stored on such media must be destroyed before it is discarded. As for data stored on computer hard drives that are sold or donated to third parties, the law compels employers to remove the data in a method that makes it irretrievable.
Additionally, employers have a duty to restrict access to confidential personal information while it is being stored and maintained by the employer. Noncompliance with the new regulations subjects an employer to federal or state fines, civil liability, and the specter of class-action lawsuits.
Practical Tips For Compliance
• Separate employee personal confidential information (i.e., health information, criminal, credit, and consumer background checks) from general personnel files;
• Limit access to personal confidential information files to those who have a business duty to access the information and establish a confidentiality policy with regard thereto;
• Set up a protocol for destruction of personal confidential information (in both documentary and electronic media form);
• Make sure that any third party to whom document destruction is outsourced complies with the new legal requirements.
GRETA T. HUTTON
Ms. Hutton is a Principal in the firm’s employment and commercial litigation groups. For more information, you can reach Ms. Hutton at (818) 547-5108 or email: gh@kpclegal.com.
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