SHRM-CP Functional Area 14: U.S. Employment Laws & Regulations

What is SHRM’s BASK definition of U.S. Employment Laws & Regulations?

• “U.S. Employment Law and Regulations refers to the knowledge and application of all relevant laws and regulations in the United States related to employment—provisions that set the parameters and limitations for each HR functional area and for organizations overall.”

Why is good recordkeeping a requirement for employers?

• It simply makes good business sense to have accurate information handy and organized when you want to use it

• Most business owners and managers will eventually encounter the need to produce documentation about employee performance and work history

• Some employee records are required by federal or state governments and must be kept somewhere

Who should have access to information about employees?

• It should be strictly limited to those people in your business with a need to use the information in their jobs

What is a personnel file?

• A collection of record files maintained by various people in various locations

  • The central file is usually maintained by the HR department

What are the main categories of information included in a personnel file?

• Employment Requests for Application

• Performance Appraisals

• Training and Development

• Employee Separations

• Benefits

• Wage/Salary Administration

• Employee Relations

What categories of information should not be included in a personnel file?

• Medical Records

• Investigation Records

• Security Clearance Investigation Records

• Insupportable Opinions

Can you retain medical information in a personnel file?

• No! HIPAA requires there are confidential separate, and apart from other business records

What information should be extracted from personnel files and placed in separately, protected files as medical information?

• Health insurance application form

• Life insurance application form

• Request for medical leave of absence, regardless of reason

• Personal accident reports

• Workers’ compensation report of injury or illness

• OSHA injury and illness reports

• Any other form or document that contains private medical information for a specific employee

When a complaint is lodged or law enforcement agencies get involed with individual employees, what should be created?

• A written record that documents what investigative steps were taken and what actions resulted from them

• These files have specific employee-identifiable information that may be of a sensitive personal nature, so each investigation file should be held under the same security provisions as medical records

How long do payroll records that include name, address, occupation, payroll deductions, trust records, employee notices, etc. need to be retained?

• Four years from date of last entry

How long do payroll records that include basic time and earnings cards, wage rate tables, work time schedules, etc. need to be retained?

• Two years from date of last entry

How long do payroll records that include any report required by the Secretary of Labor and all backup data required to prepare required reports need to be retained?

• Five years after filling report based on records

How long do logs of occupational injuries or illnesses resulting in medical treatment, loss of consciousness or restriction of work or motion, transfer or termination of employment need to be retained?

• Five years minimum following inury or illness

How long do OSHA 300 reports, hazardous condition exposures, medical tests and screening, employee medical records, etc. need to be retained?

• Five years after the year reported and up to 30 years after employment ends

How long do employment records, payroll records, job descriptions, union agreements, retirement plants, etc. need to be retained?

• One year from the date of personnel action or until any discrimination charge is resolved

• Three years for affirmative action employers unless the employer has fewer than 150 employees or does not have a government contract of at least $150,000, which in that case, the retention requirement is 2 years from the date of making the record or the personnel action taken

How long do employment requisitions, job advertisements, job applications and testing documents, affirmative action plans, etc. need to be retained?

• One year

• Three years for affirmative action employers

How long do interviewer records and notes, selection decisions, and physican exam reports need to be retained?

• Three years for affirmative action employers

How long do FMLA records, including basic payroll data showing additions or deductions from wages, dates for FMLA leave, hours for FMLA leave, employee requests for FMLA leave, etc., need to be retained?

• Three years from the making of the record

How long all income tax records, which include payroll-related records, period of services covered by each payment, amount of wages subject to withholding, etc., need to be retained?

• Fifteen years → 3 years of an assessment period plus a 10 year collection period plus 2 years for payment of refund

• W-4s are kept for as long as in effect plus 4 years

How long do unemployment tax records, which include total pay, wages subject to tax, and contributions to state unemployment funds, need to be retained?

• Four years after tax is due or paid

How long do social security and medicare tax records, including the name and address and SSN of all employees, amount of total wages subject to tax, all employer filing records, etc., need to be retained?

• Four years after the tax is due or paid, whichever is later

How long do work authorization records, including I-9 Forms and student work permits, need to be retained?

• Three years from date of hire, or one year after termination of employment, whichever is later

How long do polygraph exam records, including statement of reasons for conducting the exam, copy of statement given to the examinee about the time and place of examination, etc., need to be retained?

• Three years after the exam

How long do records containing the contract number and period each employee was engaged on the contract and records showing all employees paid prevailing benefits or their equivalent value need to be retained?

• Two years

How long do wage and hour records for “laborers and mechaines” employed in constructions and the age certicication for each employee younger than 18 need to retained?

• Three years

How long do pension plan records, including records sufficient to determine benefits due to employees, welfare and pension records, and supporting documents for ERISA filings, need to be retained?

• Permamently (records to determine benefits due to employees)

• Five Years (welfare and pension records)

• Six years after filing (ERISA filings)

How long do union-related records, inclduing CBAs, organizing records, and correspondence with the union, need to be retained?

• Seven years from conclusion of the contract

How long do personnel records that include attendance, employee training, verification of job applicant references, etc., need to be retained?

• Three years after termination

How long do personnel records that include employee awards, employee commendations, disciplinary action records, and requests for transfer need to be retained?

• Five years after termination

How long do personnel records that include job descriptions, performance evaluations, wage attachments or garnishment notices need to be retained?

• Six years after termination or update

How long do employer property records showing employee issue of property need to be retained?

• The duration of the employee’s employment

How long do personnel records that include employment applications, job offer letters, records of pay changes since date of hire, benefits request form, performance evaluations, exit interviews, termination records, etc., need to be retained?

• Permanently

What should the employer do once a record has reached its experiation date?

• Destroy it!

  • Shred paper documents

  • Crush or incinerate storage media, overright and render the dat unrecoverable, or demagnetize it