04/15/2026
It's not too late for spring cleaning. Now is a great time to look into those employee records and see which ones you need and which you can shred.
Federal law sets minimum retention periods by record type:
-Payroll and tax records: 4 years.
-Hiring and employment records: 1 year from the hire or no-hire decision. 2 years if you're a federal contractor.
-Certain health and safety records: duration of employment plus 30 years.
-A link to a full list of federal requirements can be found in the comments.
It's very important that these documents are disposed of properly. Shred paper documents, verify deletion for electronic files, and if you're ever notified of pending legal action, stop all destruction immediately — even for records past their normal retention date. That applies to paper, electronic files, and emails.
Worth a quick check if you haven't looked at your retention schedule lately.
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