Personnel records

ctcool · May 2001

At what time frame is it appropriate to purge personel files. I recomended 1 year for minor write ups but reprimands and higher keep in the files permanantly. Also once purged can you distroy them or should they be kept in storage.

Granhel · May 2001

It is not so simple to purge personnel files. There are many laws covering different sources within the files. I-9's for example which should be retained in a seperate file, must be kept 3 years after date of hire or 1 year after termination, whichever is later. May I suggest an excellent source of information: the Council on Education in Management has a great workshop (may possible be available on video or disk) titled 'Personnel/HR Record Compliance Workshop. Contact: phone (704)522-1236; fax (704)521-5380; [url]www.counciloned.com[/url] AND I am sure there are others, I happen to be familiar with this one. Hope this helps.

(Excerpt from workshop workbook: "REASONS not to purge: In a legal proceeding, old information may be critical to your defense. Historical information can be used to show patters of employee performance or demonstrate that personnel policies and procedures have been consistently applied. If documentation of historical events has been purged, there is no way to recapture that data; also, opinion varies widely on which documents should be kept and which should be discarded. Purge cautiously and only with the consensus of management, legal counsel and others in your department. Remember wen purging documents, to protect privacy...shred purged documents, do not simply throw them in the trash".

Gillian · May 2001

This one starts with a review of state and federal recordkeeping requirements which vary from state to state (at least the state ones do) and remember that various records have different retention periods. Next, one has to think about possible future use of the file. Most attorneys recommend keeping files for five years, just to ensure that they are not needed for litigation. The more conservative the attorney, of course, the higher the recommendation. Finally, look at fairness and common sense. It may not be fair to keep a written warning in a file forever, especially when the problem is no longer a problem. I think that there should be a reasonable purge period for disciplinary actions but the policy for this will vary from organization to organization.

(BJ) · May 2001

Most companies purge disciplinary record after two years as long as the infraction has not re-occurred. When the records are purged they are normally given to the employee or destroyed. Why purge if you intend to keep the records?

dhnyct · May 2001

I prefer to keep everything on file as long as the employee is active. Past problems may not bear as much weight after a period of time, but the file should remain complete.

Margaret Morford · May 2001

I agree that you should keep all disciplinary action while the employee is active, so that you have a complete performance record. However, most displinary policies state that if the action is 6 months or a year old, the disciplinary process begins over. In other words, the employee begins at the first step of the process again. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 615-371-8200.

Margaret Morford

Personnel records

Comments