Benefits of Shredding

Information That Requires Destruction Can Be Found At Every Place of Business

Confidential data will from time to time need to be discarded. This includes statistical data of all kinds, including drafts of important bid letters, memos about different types of business activity, lists with names of clients and other information that a competitor would benefit from knowing about. Along with this is the fact the each business is burdoned with being trusted with this information which must legally be kept private. It is the right of your employees and clients to legally have this sensitive information kept from the wrong eyes.

If the business owner is sloppy and does not take care while disposing of this information, it may end up in a dumpster where it is legally available to anybody who wants to look for it. It is a well known fact that those involved in espionage in the business world utilized trash as the number one place to look first for private information about their competitors. Even more importantly, any business that does not practice these methods of protecting data are at risk of being criminally held responsible if this were to be discovered.

A Retention Schedule Should be in Place Governing the Length of Time Records Should be Kept

Depending on the usefulness of records, a retention schedule needs to be in place determing the length of time after which documents must be destroyed. This must be strictly adhered to and there should not be any data stored beyond the length of the period of retention.

Furthermore, a business that fails to destroy this information on a regular basis can be looked at as 'suspicious' for their disposal practices. If an audit or litigation were to arise, this could have a very negative effect on the outcome as it is technically illegal to improperly dispose of sensitive information in the same way a doctor can't tell other patients about each other.

It is stated in the Federal Rule Twenty-Six that in a lawsuit, both parties must provide all relevant information to the counsel of the opposition within 85 days of the defendant's response initially. Not fulfilling this requirement may cause further findings against them. If a business has a set schedule for document destruction, it will make things much easier if the need arises to search through all documents for specifically dated information. It is highly recommended to record the dates on which data is destryed as a safeguard.

Records That Need Safe Destruction:

Accounting Records, Bids and Quotations, Business Plans, Cancelled Checks, Contracts, Copy Machine Rejects, Customer Lists, Employee Records,Expense Reports, Insurance Information, Inventory Reports, Legal Signatures, Market Analysis, Meeting Notes, Misprinted Copies, Patient Information, Production Reports, Phone Logs and Messages, Research & Developement Data, Sales Information, Security Holding Statements, Banking Information, Blue Prints, Budget Data, Confidential Letters, Copies of Checks, Credit Cards, Education Records, Engineering Drawings, Financial Reports, Internal Memos, Labor Estimates, Loan Information, Medical Information, Misaligned Forms, Negotiable Documents, Payroll Reports, Prospect Lists, Purchase Orders, Sales Call Reports, Shipping Information, Social Security Numbers.