Certain HR records, like tax forms, need to be retained for several years. Others should be destroyed once they're no longer needed. Here are examples of documents you should shred:
* A document containing any HIPAA-protected health information.
* A document with any personally identifiable information, such as names, social security numbers, etc.
* A document that includes sensitive financial information such as credit card numbers, account and routing numbers, etc.
* Something relating to pending litigation, payroll, personnel or other private information is mentioned.
Services like Troy-based Shred-It (www.shredit.com) can take your shredded documents and recycle them. Note that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 forbids destroying documents in an attempt to obstruct an investigation.
