HR/Payroll Solutions
Personnel Records: Electronic: What factors should we consider when converting personnel files from hard copy to electronic format?
In general, employers are free to maintain their records in any format they wish. Technological advances now allow employers to maintain their employment records in an electronic format to reduce costs and relieve employers of having to provide physical storage space for employment records over a span of many years. Additionally, many organizations are electing to go paperless as part of their commitment to sustainability. When implementing such a conversion, however, employers must follow the guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Labor in its Final Rules Relating to Use of Electronic Communication and Recordkeeping Technologies by Employee Pension and Welfare Benefit Plans, which employers may use as a standard for all electronic record keeping.
- Safety. The record keeping system must have reasonable controls to ensure the integrity, accuracy, authenticity and reliability of the records kept in electronic form.
- Accessibility. The electronic records must be maintained in reasonable order, in a safe and accessible place and in such manner that they may be readily inspected or examined. The electronic records must be readily converted into legible and readable paper copies as may be needed to satisfy reporting and disclosure requirements or any other obligation under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) or in conjunction with an agency audit.
- Privacy. Adequate records management practices must be established and implemented, such as following procedures for labeling electronically maintained records; providing a secure storage environment; creating backup electronic copies and selecting an off-site storage location; observing a quality assurance program and conducting regular audits of the system; and retaining paper copies of any records that cannot be clearly or completely transferred to the electronic record keeping system.
It is important to select a vendor with a proven track record of providing reliable safety and security for employment records. Your system should have appropriate security features, such as firewalls and passwords for the data, and it should allow access only to those who have a need to know. The system should also be backed up often to ensure that data are not lost and in the event that the original system and files are destroyed. This is extremely important because companies need to access accurate records, which frequently reduce potential liabilities in employment-related litigation. A strong defense in an employment-related lawsuit typically depends on the documentation kept by the managers involved in the situation. All records pertaining to any litigation must be kept for the duration of the litigation, which may reach final resolution years after the original event. Additionally, most of the federal employment laws do have specific time retention requirements (i.e., ERISA for six years, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Civil Rights Act for one year). It is crucial that organizations ensure they are complying with these requirements because the same federal record keeping requirements and time frames that apply to paper records also apply to electronic records.
Article By the SHRM Information Center from http://www.shrm.org/templatestools/hrqa/pages/convertingfiles.aspx