Employee Info Retention Question

The following questions were submitted to us by a nonprofit director regarding employee records: How long does a not-for-profit have to hold on to past employee information, including attendance records?

CCSNYS Legal Advisor Mike West provided the following guidance: The art of effective record retention boils down to two standards -- reason and risk. Some business people fear risking adverse consequences and hang on to everything forever -- this is the kind of unreasonable behavior that can turn your office into a landfill! Others trash everything early and often -- an unreasonably risky path to neatness.

To guide you in minimizing your risks, there are generally accepted, reasonable time periods recommended for retaining business records. Mike further relates that in a nutshell, most sensitive employment records must be saved for a period of 7 years. More specific examples are:

• Time books/cards (for exempt & non-exempt employees) -- 7 years
• Time cards/sheets -- 3 years after record is made
• Payroll records and summaries, pensions, payroll taxes -- 7 years
• Personnel records -- 1 year from making the record

Here is an example records retention policy provided by the National Council of Nonprofits.

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