Recordkeeping
The Human Resources (HR) department at Dow Aero (“Company”) is responsible for retaining and destroying confidential personnel records in accordance with corporate policies and procedures, along with statutory and regulatory requirements. The following is a general outline of the Company’s Human Resources (HR) department’s operating policies and procedures for personnel record retention and destruction; at its discretion, the Company may expand the record retention period beyond what is identified below.
If the Company’s retention timeline is not of sufficient duration for statutory or regulatory requirement, then law or regulation shall govern.
Minimum Retention of Confidential Personnel Records
Pre-Employment
Employment Applications — Termination + 3 Years
Résumés / Cover Letters — Termination + 3 Years
Interview Evaluations — Termination + 3 Years
Assessment Results — Termination + 3 Years
References / Verifications — Termination + 3 Years
Offer Letters — Termination + 3 Years
Background Checks — Termination + 3 Years
Pre-Employment Drug Screening Negative Test Results:
Safety-Sensitive Employees — 2 Years
Non Safety-Sensitive Employees — Immediately Upon Hire
Pre-Employment Drug Screening Positive Test Results — 5 Years
Note: If an applicant is ultimately not hired, the above records should be retained for three (3) years after the no-hire decision is made; within exception to a pre-employment drug screening results which should be retained as identified above after the no-hire decision is made.
Employment
Intellectual Property Ownership / Proprietary Information Agreement / Nondisclosures — Termination + 5 Years
Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verifications — Termination + 3 Years
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Assignments — Termination + 3 Years
HR Policy and Procedure Acknowledgements — Termination + 3 Years
Conflict of Interest Agreements — Termination + 3 Years
Transfers — Termination + 3 Years
Discipline — Termination + 3 Years
Employee Training and Development — Termination + 3 Years
Performance Assessments / Peer Reviews / Goals — Termination + 3 Years
Job Related Injuries & Illnesses — Termination + 5 Years
FMLA Leave Reports — Termination + 3 Years
USERRA Leave — Permanent
Reasonable Accommodations — Termination + 3 Years
Resignation Letters — Termination + 3 Years
Separation Agreements — Termination + 5 Years
Termination Notices — Termination + 3 Years
Unemployment Claims — Termination + 4 Years
Payroll / Tax
Position and Pay Histories — Termination + 3 Years
Timesheets — 4 Years
Reimbursements — Termination + 3 Years
Deductions — Termination + 4 Years
Garnishments — Termination + 4 Years
Paystubs / W-2s — Termination + 4 Years
Payroll Registers — 4 Years
Direct Deposits — Termination + 4 Years
Federal & State Payroll Tax Forms — 4 Years
Federal Form 1099s — 4 Years
Benefits
Group Health Plan Elections — Termination + 3 Years
Employee Life and AD&D Beneficiaries — Termination + 1 Year
401(k) Beneficiary Records — Termination + 50 Years
401(k) Loans — Termination + 4 Years
401(k) Automatic Enrollment Waives — Termination + 3 Years
401(k) Permissible Withdraws — Termination + 4 Years
Drug and Alcohol Program
Negative Drug and Alcohol Test Results:
Safety-Sensitive Employees — 2 Years
Non Safety-Sensitive Employees — Immediately
Release of Information Records — 3 Years
Positive Drug and Alcohol Test Results — 5 Years
Reasonable Suspicion Assessments — 5 Years
Compliance
EEO-1 Reports — Permanent
State New-Hire Reports — 3 Years
Affirmative Action Plan and Reports — 5 Years
Form 5500 — 6 Years
OSHA 300 / 300A — Posting date + 5 Years
VETS-4212 — 5 Years
Destruction of Employee and Applicant Information
All confidential personnel records maintained by the Human Resources (HR) department shall be destroyed as retention dates pass. Any employment materials submitted by applicants, and who were never employed by the Company, are also to be destroyed as appropriate. This pertains to all employee and applicant information, not just specific info governed by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA).
When confidential records or materials must be discarded or destroyed, the information shall either be:
Deleted from an appropriate HR system if electronic data.
e.g., BambooHR, Maxwell Health, Justworks, TalentLMS, etc.
Shredded by the Company’s Human Resources (HR) department personnel if a paper document.
Litigation Hold
When the Company is involved in or anticipates that it may be involved in litigation, a litigation hold may be issued. This means that all records relating to the litigation matter shall be kept in order to preserve any potential evidence. In failing to do so, the Company may be sanctioned by the court for destroying evidence. A court has broad authority to impose these sanctions, which may include anything from unfavorable procedural rulings during a trial to payment of monetary damages.
In the event that the Company announces a litigation hold on any or all Company records as a result of pending or anticipated litigation, all records covered by such a litigation hold SHALL NOT be discarded, deleted, or destroyed. Further, the Company’s Information Technology (IT) department shall be notified to suspend any automatic deletion of communication records and data, as appropriate, for all individuals covered by the litigation hold. Any questions regarding employment litigation should be directed to the Company’s Human Resources (HR) department.