Have you ever thought twice before sending a stack of forms to the shredders? Many people wouldn’t think twice before obliterating important documents into a barrage of confetti, but may be surprised to realize that perhaps you really should. There are numerous important rules and regulations regarding paper shredding, and if you don’t know what they are then listen up. Though these rules may not apply to those old receipts bursting out of your drawer or the hundreds of bank letters you’re told to save, if you currently, or ever plan to, own or manage a business you may find this information useful one day.
Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act
First is the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act or FACTA, or even the FACT Act if you so feel inclined to refer to it as that. Signed into law in early December of 2003, the act primarily enforces regulations meant to combat identity theft, consumer fraud, and other related infractions. Bottom line is that this act contains provisions that include methods for proper destruction for any documents revealing consumer information, and applies to nearly all businesses and organizations.
Disposal Rule
The Disposal Rule is a simple concept whose name says it all. If you didn’t already know, it is illegal to throw away any documents containing sensitive consumer information for risk of it being read or potentially reconstructed for malicious use. Should you decide to do it anyway, you could face federal and state penalties for each individual violation. No thanks. Safest way to destroy documents, compliantly, is to burn, pulverize, or shred them until nothing is left. Seriously, make sure nothing is left, it’s the rules.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, is a law intended specifically to protect the privacy of patient health records. Ratified in 1996, this comprehensive piece of legislature includes an extensive list of provisions that can be viewed at any time through The Health and Human Services website.
Gramm Leach Bliley
Similar to HIPAA, the GLB, or rather the Gramm Leach Bliley is a federal law that works primarily with financial institutions to ensure the safety and privacy of all “non-public personal information” by enforcing the destruction of all documents containing such information, if said information is no longer current or usable.
These rules and regulations associated with document shredding are rigorous, and numerous organizations can impose serious consequences on those who are not compliant. Sometimes the best thing you can do when you’re unsure of something is to just leave it to the professionals. For information about our elite shredding services, please call 248.344.9185 or 1.800.944.7716 or fill out the form in the sidebar to learn more about convenient, secure and affordable document shredding from Corrigan Record Storage.
