Personnel Information You Must Keep

April 13, 2006

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The only records that you have to keep are those required by the government (we discuss federal law, but state law requirements may mean additional recordkeeping) and whatever information you need for your own business purposes.

But the government requires that you keep an array of information under different laws. When reviewing the chart for record retention requirements, know which laws affect your business so that you can comply more easily with them.

Federal laws address the length of time that certain employee records must be kept, but not how long the entire personnel file must be kept. Some state laws require that personnel files be retained for a given period of time following an employee's termination. The retention periods range from 60 days to three years following termination.

We recommend that you retain such records and keep a personnel file for seven years after any employee terminates employment, since your business may be called upon to provide an employment reference for the employee in the future or may be drawn into a dispute over the reason for the termination.

Information	Retention requirement	Law
Employee name and any identifying number used in place of the name used on any work records	4 years from tax due date or payment of tax, whichever is later	Social Security Act
Social Security Number	4 years from tax due date or payment of tax, whichever is later	Social Security Act
Employee home address, including zip code	4 years from tax due date or payment of tax, whichever is later	Social Security Act
Date of birth if the employee is under 19	3 years	FLSA Equal Pay Act
Date of birth of all employees	3 years	ADEA
Gender of employee	3 years	FLSA Equal Pay Act
Occupation of employee	3 years	FLSA Equal Pay Act ADEA
Age records	No time period specified by law	ERISA
Service record to determine whether an employee has worked 1000 hours or has incurred a break in service	No time period specified by law	ERISA
Marital status record	No time period specified by law	ERISA
Form I-9	3 years after hire or the date of recruitment or referral (if directed from an employment agency) or, after termination, for one year or 3 years after hiring, whichever is later	Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
Complete job application	1 year	Title VII ADA
Resumes or other forms of employment inquiry	1 year	ADEA
Other hiring material	1 year	Title VII ADA
Job orders submitted by an employer to an employment agency	1 year	ADEA
Test papers for a position if the test paper discloses the result of the test	1 year	ADEA
Results of any physical examination that is considered by the employer in connection with personnel action	1 year	ADA
Any advertisements relating to job openings	1 year	ADEA
Records of job movement (promotions, demotions, transfers)	1 year	Title VII ADA ADEA
Material relating to layoffs	1 year	Title VII ADA ADEA
Material relating to termination	1 year Records of involuntarily terminated employees must be kept for a period of one year from the date of termination.	Title VII ADA
Selection for training or apprenticeship	1 year	Title VII ADA ADEA
Requests for physical job accommodation	1 year	ADA

Records to keep for your own business use. Other employment records routinely maintained by employers, but not specifically listed in the federal requirements, include: