Knowledge Center
Why do we need to keep records? Learn more about which records to keep and why.
Knowledge Center
Be compliant by following the laws and regulations that control your industry.
Why do we need to keep records? Learn more about which records to keep and why.
Be compliant by following the laws and regulations that control your industry.
What to Store and Protect?
There are many reasons to retain the records needed to conduct your business. For example, the legal and regulatory environment requires you to retain records pertaining to taxes, payroll, employee benefits, quality control, test data, and so on. The business environment demands that you carefully protect your corporate papers, patents, and other proprietary information.
The following is a partial list of the kinds of records that businesses must retain and manage.
Records Management Laws
Numerous state, federal and industry regulations require you to retain, protect and properly destroy certain information about your customers, employees, consumers, patients and trade secrets. The following is a partial list of key laws and regulations that affect many businesses and individuals.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH)
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) 2009/2010 privacy rules protect all “individually identifiable health information” including demographic data.
Examples of individually identifiable health information that must be protected for HIPAA compliance:
References:
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act enacted in 1999 includes a Privacy Rule which protects a consumer’s “nonpublic personal information” (NPI) that you collect in connection with providing a financial product or service.
Examples of non-public information that must be protected for Gramm-Leach-Bliley compliance:
References:
Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA)
FACTA requires businesses and individuals to properly dispose of sensitive information derived from consumer reports. The Disposal Rule defines ‘proper’ disposal practices that could include establishing and complying with polices to burn, pulverize or shred papers containing consumer report information, and hiring a document disposal company that is certified by a recognized trade association.
Examples of consumer report information that must be properly managed for FACTA compliance:
References:
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
PCI DSS is a set of requirements designed to ensure that companies that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. The focus of the standard is to provide payment account security throughout the transaction process. Compliance with the PCI DSS means that your systems are secure and your customers can trust you with their sensitive payment card information.
References:
Privacy Act of 1974
The purpose of the Privacy Act is to balance the government’s need to maintain information about individuals with the rights of individuals to be protected against unwarranted invasion of their privacy. The Privacy Act governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information maintained by federal agencies.
The Act focuses on four basic policy objectives:
Act compliance:
References:
Economic Espionage Act (EEA)
The Economic Espionage Act of 1996 protects a broad range of trade secret information if the owner has taken reasonable measures to keep such information secret, and if the information derives independent economic value from not being generally known to or accessible by the public. In other words, if you do not take reasonable precautions, your trade secrets will not be protected, even from a person who uses improper means to obtain them.
Examples of information that must be protected for EEA compliance:
References:
Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA)
The Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) was developed as a model law in 1979 and amended in 1985 to provide states with a legal framework for improved trade secret protection for industry.
Examples of information that must be protected for UTSA compliance:
References:
Additional References:
State, federal and industry regulations place record keeping requirements on businesses and individuals.
Off-Site’s records expertise assists you in developing a program to systematically track and manage your business records.
Penalties are hefty for non-compliance with requirements to securely safeguard and destroy sensitive records protected by laws.
Off-Site Records Management, LLC
1959 Monterey Road San Jose, CA 95112-6119
Tel: 408-971-4200