What are the federal laws related to employee record keeping?

1.Short answer
2.General rule
3.Exceptions to retention periods listed above
4.State laws may differ
5.Final tips
6.Helpful links:

Short answer

There is no short answer, really, when it comes to employee recordkeeping, thanks to numerous federal acts like Americans with Disabilities Act and Family Medical Leave Act, to name just a couple.

General rule

As a general rule, you should keep records for the following years:

Personnel records for 7 years after termination
Medical and benefits for 6 years after the plan date
I-9 forms for 3 years after termination
Hiring records for 2 years after hiring date

Exceptions to retention periods listed above

If you're involved in any employment-related dispute, especially with a terminated employee, you'll obviously want to keep all records until the dispute is settled.

You should also keep the medical and benefits records of employees who've been exposed to occupational hazards or diseases for 30 years.

State laws may differ

States may also have requirements that you'll have to follow. For example, Missouri state law requires that you keep records for at least 3 years of:

Name, address, and occupation
Rate of pay, the amount paid each pay period to each employee, the hours worked each day, and each workweek by the employee, and
Any goods or services provided by you to the employee in lieu of wages

You might want to search the internet for employee recordkeeping laws for specific requirements in your state.

Final tips

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has a handy table that lists out exactly what records need to be saved based on the applicable federal law and how long each needs to be saved.

Helpful links:

Fact Sheet on Recordkeeping Requirements Under FLSA - DOL.gov - Department of Labor Sheet that details what records are to be kept by employers

Recordkeeping Requirements - EEOC.gov - US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Recordkeeping Requirements for employers

Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records - OSHA.gov Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Requirements for access to medical records after exposure to hazardous substances

This article is for informational purposes only, is not legal, tax or accounting advice, and is not an offer to sell, buy or procure insurance. TriNet is the single-employer sponsor of all its benefit plans, which does not include voluntary benefits that are not ERISA-covered group health insurance plans and enrollment is voluntary. Official plan documents always control and TriNet reserves the right to amend the benefit plans or change the offerings and deadlines.

This article may contain hyperlinks to websites operated by parties other than TriNet. Such hyperlinks are provided for reference only. TriNet does not control such web sites and is not responsible for their content. Inclusion of such hyperlinks on TriNet.com does not necessarily imply any endorsement of the material on such websites or association with their operators.