HR Employee Files -
Let's discuss the proper way to maintain employees files and I'9.
Comments
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I have always color-coded my employee files. A different color for each category--e.g., Payroll/Wage, Attendance/Disciplinary/Performance, Benefits, Safety, Medical. Early on in my career. I found this system the easiest to work with and retrieve information from, although it is a little more work on the front-end. If the supervisor needs to see past evaluations, he/she can view the Attend/Discipline/Performance file. There is no medical information or doctor's notes in that file and required information remains confidential.
All active employees' I-9s are filed together in alpha order. Since these must be retained three years from DOH or one year from Termination, whichever is longer, I set up purge folders by year based on when they can be shredded. At year end of that year, they are discarded appropriately.
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I also have category files - although I'd really love to have strictly digital files some day. I have one general file, confidential file (pay/discipline), training file, and a medical file in a separate cabinet. I have my I-9's the same, one active which is alphabetical and one of terminated employees listed by purge date.
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Generally I have one folder for employee records (demographic, resume, pay info, performance, address change, etc.), one for benefits/medical, and I keep I-9s in a binder. Some companies where I have worked also separate out tax and direct deposit info from the 'employee record' and into it's own payroll file. Some have had separate training files, others put that with the employee record. I think the main reason is those docs sometimes have different retention schedules, but unless you're religious about purging according to retention schedules, that may be unnecessary work. I'd say evaluate what info auditors want, how feds would want info if they came in, and the realities of your storage space and size of HR team.
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