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Why Shred?
IT'S THE LAW
SB 1386-The California Office of Privacy
Protection was the first State agency dedicated to protecting consumers from ID
theft. Senate Bill 1386 (2003) requires businesses to disclose breaches of
data security and protect customers against ID theft.
Your organization must comply with laws
and regulations, requiring that it protect certain information when it is
discarded.
An increasing number of laws actually
require organizations to shred or face steep fines.
At the federal level,
FACTA (Credit
Report Info), HIPAA (healthcare) and
Gramm-Leach-Bliley (financial) require
specific physical safeguards, such as shredding, to meet compliance. Stiff
penalties could result!
YOUR CUSTOMERS
Whether your customers are consumers
concerned about Identity Theft and Privacy, or companies concerned with
protecting trade information, you are entrusted with information that they
consider to be extremely confidential.
In fact, whether you know it or not,
you have an “implied contract” to protect that information simply based on the
fact that you are collecting the data to conduct business.
They have the legal right to expect you
to take every precaution to protect it, including shredding it before it is
discarded.
YOUR PUBLIC IMAGE
“Dumpster
Diving” has become Investigative Journalism 101. With all the privacy
compliance laws, it is the first place reporters look when trying to grab a
quick headline.
Privacy is the newest consumer
awareness issue. Confidential informational in your dumpster is an easy source
of sensational headlines.
YOUR EMPLOYEES
Employees (past and present) have a
legal right to have their personal information protected by shredding before it
is discarded.
Insurance records, employment
applications, time cards, health records, accident reports and attendance
records are examples of information that legally must be protected.
CORPORATE ETHICS
In this
day and age, it is very important that your organization exhibits the highest
ethical
standards.
Casually discarding company
information, whether in the form of an individual’s personal information, or
company trade information, shows a callous disregard for customer and
shareholder welfare. It exposes customers to the threat of Identity Theft and
other fraud. It also risks your company losing its trade secret protections in
court.
YOUR TRADE INFORMATION RIGHTS
The courts
have demonstrated many times that they will not recognize trade information
protections if a company doesn’t take every step to protect the information
themselves. Casual disposal of information has been the basis for courts to
deny trade information rights, which otherwise would have been enforceable.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that
you forfeit the right of ownership to discarded information.
WHAT TO SHRED?
DOCUMENT
RETENTION PERIODS
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