Can You Dispose of the Original Once It’s Scanned?

Yesterday’s Advisor focused on Jacuzzi’s rules for electronic recordkeeping. Today, we’ll get more of his tips and an introduction to an extraordinary HR audit system.

Jacuzzi is a shareholder in the South San Francisco law firm Simpson, Garrity, Innes & Jacuzzi, P.C. His comments came at a recent audio conference sponsored by BLR^®.

What Original Records Should You Keep?

Generally, you want to keep the original documents with independent financial or legal significance or where authentication may prove difficult, says Jacuzzi. For example:

• Employment contracts
• Promissory notes
• Settlement documents
• Notarized documents
• Sealed documents

Proper Disposal or Paper Records

Paper records must be properly disposed of after transfer to an electronic recordkeeping system, Jacuzzi says. Shredding is the most popular method, he notes.

Consider the following before disposing of records:

• Sensitivity of the information to be disposed of,
• Nature of the operations,
• Costs/benefits of disposal methods,
• Relevant technological changes, and
• Penalties for failure to properly dispose.

Be sure to perform due diligence on any outside vendor, Jacuzzi says.

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Maintain in Separate Files—Whether Electronic or Not!

Remember, says Jacuzzi, that electronic records of certain types must be kept in separate files, just like paper records. For example:

• Medical records
• I-9 information
• General employment actions
• General EEO records and analyses
• Disputes/resolutions
• Accommodations
• Injury/illness records

Security of Electronic and Paper Records

• Remember to keep medical files “under lock and key.”
• Consider how to manage employee or applicant rights to access and copy.
• Maintain the chain of custody and control.
• Create multi-tiered security designed to maintain confidentiality and limit access.

Be sure to document procedures relating to the above, Jacuzzi says.

What to Do

Here’s what Jacuzzi recommends:

• Create a records management policy and system.
• Identify documents that will and will not be kept electronically.
• Identify how e-docs will be stored, managed, and secured to ensure accuracy and reliability.
• Develop a procedure for approving records retention and a destruction schedule.
• Be clear on how backup copies will be handled internally and off-site.
• Identify key individuals and assign responsibilities.
• Be sure you are able to suspend document destruction for imminent or pending litigation.
• Be sure records are auditable.
• Develop a method and schedule for information confirmation.
• Document system development and implementation.
• Check your disaster recovery systems.
• Document all modifications to process, procedure, and people.
• Have all functional/affected units represented on an electronic records oversight committee—IT, HR, Legal, Finance, and Business Units.
• Mark all confidential documents as such: Trade Secrets, Business Confidential, Attorney-Client Privileged.
• Have all attorneys use signatures that identify them as attorneys and/or label documents and communications.
• Use “attorney client privileged” as the subject in e-mails to counsel.
• Electronically track sensitive documents.
• Train managers.
• Limit personal e-mail on your system.

Finally, says Jacuzzi, be sure to conduct periodic audits to ensure process is being followed.

Regular HR audits. They’re the only way to make sure that employees in every corner of your facility are operating within policy guidelines. If you’re not auditing, someone’s probably violating a policy right now.

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