b'of three years after the date of hire, or one year after the dateemployment is terminated. What Should I Do:With two sections covering document retention requirements, Texas Workers Compensation Act: The Act does not specifyIamsureyouareallreadyforsomesimplifiedguidelines.the information to be retained but does require employers toPundits are all over the place with suggestions on this point that retain a record of injuries to employees for an unspecifiedvary extraordinarily. These are our thoughts:periodoftime.Itisrecommendedthatemployersretainall Payroll/Payroll Taxes: 4 years after creation;filingswiththeTexasDepartmentofInsuranceregarding Medical and FMLA Leave Records: 4 years after creation;workers compensation claims, all documents received from the employers workers compensation carrier (if a subscriber), and Benefits/Plan records: 7 years after creation; all documents received from the injured employee for a period Form I-9: 3 years after termination;of four years after the claim is concluded, regardless of whether Hiring and Applicant Records: 4 years following hiring the employee returns to work.decision;Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: The Ledbetter Act, passed in 2009, Injury Records: 6 years after occurrence; andwreakedhavocwithemployersdocumentretentionpolicies.Personnel Files and Personnel Actions: 4 years (but In a nutshell, the Act extends the period of time an employeepossibly longer at your discretion considering the risk of a can make a claim that they were unfairly paid less because offair wage claim under the Ledbetter Act).a protected characteristic: race, color, religion, national origin, OSHA List: Certain motor vehicle dealers; electronics and appliance stores; health and sex,pregnancy,age,militarystatus,orgeneticinformation.personal care stores; gasoline stations; clothing stores; shoe stores; jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores; sporting goods, hobby, and musical instrument stores; book, periodical, Employees in Texas used to be able to include instances ofand music stores; florists; office supplies, stationery, and gift stores; nonscheduled air transportation; pipeline transportation of crude oil; pipeline transportation of natural gas; wage discrimination that occurred up to 300 days before theyother pipeline transportation; scenic and sightseeing transportation; freight transportation arrangement; newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers; software publishers; filed the claim. Of course, this cut out an employees abilitymotion picture and video industries; sound recording industries; radio and television broadcasting; wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite); telecommunications to make a claim for discrimination that may have gone on forresellers; other telecommunications; internet service providers and web search portals; data processing, hosting, and related services; other information services; monetary authorities years. The Ledbetter Act provides that when an employee is-centralbank;depositorycreditintermediation;nondepositorycreditintermediation; affectedbyadiscriminatorypaydecisionorpractice,eachactivities related to credit intermediation; securities and commodity contracts intermediation and brokerage; securities and commodity exchanges; other financial investment activities; paycheck issued based on that decision or practice constitutesinsurance carriers; agencies, brokerages, and other insurance related activities; insurance and employee benefit funds; other investment pools and funds; offices of real estate agents an individual discriminatory act. This means that each paycheckand brokers; lessors of nonfinancial intangible assets (except copyrighted works); legal services; accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services; architectural, effectively resets the employees time limit to file a claim.engineering, and related services; specialized design services; computer systems design and related services; management, scientific, and technical consulting services; scientific research and development services; advertising and related services; management of companies and enterprises; office administrative services; business support services; travel The problem for employers is that prudence then dictates thatarrangement and reservation services; investigation and security services; elementary and secondary schools; junior colleges; colleges, universities, and professional schools; employers should retain payroll records, employee evaluations,business schools and computer and management training; technical and trade schools; other schools and instruction; educational support services; offices of physicians; offices and other information that informs on pay decisions all the wayof dentists; offices of other health practitioners; outpatient care centers; medical and diagnostic laboratories; child day care services; agents and managers for artists, athletes, back to the time the employee making the claim was hired toentertainers, and other public figures; independent artists, writers, and performers; rooming andboardinghouses;full-servicerestaurants;limited-serviceeatingplaces;drinking show patterns of fairness to employees having various protectedplaces (alcoholic beverages); electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance; characteristics. This may extend beyond the retention periodspersonal and household goods repair and maintenance; personal care services; death care services; religious organizations; grantmaking and giving services; social advocacy required under other laws. organizations; civic and social organizations; business, professional, labor, political, and similar organizations.94'