Page 10 - TPM Newsletter JAN 2020
P. 10
10 January 2020
FRONTLINE Prac cal Informa on for Managers & Supervisors
©2020, No. 373
FILES: What to Keep - What to Toss
Employers o en wonder what employment informa on EMPLOYEE PERSONNEL FILES
they need to keep and/or throw away (shred) with Include the following:
respect to current and past employees. Employers must V Job applica on and/or resume
maintain so many types of employment records, it is V Reference le ers
some mes diffi cult to determine what should be kept V Authoriza on for references to release informa on
and for how long. Both federal and state laws outline the V Off er of employment
requirements for keeping records. V Personal skills inventory
V W-4 IRS form
To maintain confi den ality and privacy, consider keeping V Employee emergency contact informa on
several diff erent V Signed drug-free workplace policy statement
fi les on each V Signed receipt of Employee Handbook
employee. Files, V Employee orienta on checklist
such as the results V Company-issued property checklist
of an employee V Authoriza on to put employee on payroll
medical test or V Employment status (date employment begins, job tle, work
Form I-9, should schedule, wage/salary)
V Authoriza on for automa c deposit (if applicable)
be kept separate
V Change of status forms (promo ons, leaves, dismissal, etc.)
from personnel
V Seminar/training a endance records
fi les. To maintain
V Agreement “Not to Compete” (if applicable)
confi den ality V Confi den ality agreement (if applicable)
privacy and to
V Right to inven ons agreement (if applicable)
avoid charges of
V Commission sales agreement (if applicable)
discrimina on,
V Re rement/pension documents and investment
informa on that could reveal an employee’s health or statements
protected status should never be kept in a personnel fi le V Performance appraisal reviews
or even in the same fi le cabinet. V Vaca on leave forms
V Disciplinary forms (warnings, etc.)
Frontline supervisors contribute informa on to and use
V Payroll deduc on authoriza on forms
employee fi les. Therefore, you must know what the fi les
V Signed employee authoriza on to release informa on
should and should not contain. Do not maintain your V Personnel record inspec on request
own separate fi les, as the law requires employers to keep V Exit interview forms
certain employee informa on confi den al to avoid the
risk of discrimina on lawsuits. MEDICAL FILES
Include the following:
Employee personnel fi les do more than meet government V Job-related illness/injury
recordkeeping requirements. They help document V Job-related exposure to possible toxic substances
performance as well as pay, promo on, transfer, V Results of post-off er employment medical exam
layoff and disciplinary ac ons. The law requires some V Medical history record
records, such as those on toxic substance exposure V Results of substance abuse tests
and bloodborne pathogens, to be kept for decades. V Group health coverage forms
Even without legal requirements, an employer may V Designa on of benefi ciary(ies)
need records on past employees for reference checks, V FMLA applica ons and return from leave documents
pension benefi t data and clarifi ca on. Keep fi les V Workers’ compensa on claims
accurate, objec ve and current. Generally, fi les should V Authoriza on for release of medical informa on
V Medical Records including;
be maintained and accessed by the human resource
o Physician records of examina on
department or the offi ce manager and be reviewed by
o Diagnos c records
authorized personnel on a need to know basis only.
o Laboratory test records
o Drug screening records
o Any other medical records with personally iden fi able
informa on about individual employees
Timber Products Manufacturers Associa on
