When most people think about their business or office, one of the last things they worry about is their files. Afterall, if you can find what you need you’re good, right? Â I would agree.
If this hold true for you, you need to understand your employee files will need some extra attention. No, not because I think being neat and organized is a good for business. It’s much more fundamental than that. There are some legal protocols you need to be aware of and comply by – the fines are too hefty to be nonchalant about it.
I’m talking about your employee files.  You know that manila folder you throw papers into, if you have any (that’s another topic for another day). This may seem like a mundane tasks, and why should you care after all employee files are an internal document.
If you are ever subjected to a government audit, you will care a great deal. Â I remember when government agencies didn’t talk to each other so if an investigator from the DOL saw something that should be reported to immigration – they didn’t, it wasn’t their job. Well, with open communication between agencies and everyone trying to help each other. If this were to happen now, immigration would be on your doorstep to do their own audit.
Not only do you want to keep things organized for yourself, you want to keep it organized so the agency that visits only sees what is relevant to them and has no need to call anyone else.
How is this done?
Glad you asked. Â You will essentially need three files. Â The traditional employee file, a confidential file and a file for I9’s.
Employee Files. This will contain all the documents related to their employment, applications, tax forms, reviews, etc.
Confidential Files. Â This will have documents that have any medical information. Such as, insurance health questionnaires, sick notes, worker’s compensation claims, etc.
I9’s. This is the one most small businesses miss.  I9’s cannot be in the employee file and must be stored separately from the employee files.
When I conduct a “People Process Analysis” for a company, this is one of the first things I do and it almost always need correcting.
Concerned about your files being in order? Call me to schedule your “People Process Analysis”.