How Long Should You Keep That Written Warning?

My teenage son and his friends ventured into a remote corner of the attic this weekend and found books and papers that looked like treasures. The kids were intrigued by the items from the 1950s and 60s, and after they lost interest in the writing, they began to speculate about their potential value via a sale on eBay.

I skipped this attic expedition but the document treasure trove does remind me of some aging contents I have found in personnel files.

An AllBusiness.com reader recently asked:

I was in the process of cleaning out some personnel files. How far back do I need to keep disciplinary issues?

At the end of 2008 I wrote a post that provided guidelines for the contents of employee personnel files. The filing and cleanup instructions included retention and separation required by government regulations. Information about employee discipline correctly belongs in a personnel file. With the exception of potential public sector and/or collective bargaining agreement stipulations employers are not required to retain documents about discipline for any specific period of time, they are not even required to create them in the first place.

The wise employer, who prepares consistent, appropriate, effective documentation, does not have to keep it forever. The 25-year-old written warning that describes a secretary’s consistent misuse of correction fluid would hardly be relevant today. The 2005 outstanding performance appraisal that rated the entry-level position accomplishments of an individual who has worked their way up to vice president is unlikely to provide a foundation for 2019 goals. A summary of career performance ratings, preferably in an electronic record, would be sufficient. I have read plenty of dated contents in thick personnel files.

This doesn’t mean that employers should shred all performance documentation that is more than one or five years old. Set a standard to identify retention of documentation that will be helpful for long-term performance management. Information describing serious offenses, close to termination, should be kept in files longer, if not indefinitely. If your policy and practice is to issue one fair, final, warning for a violation of a harassment policy or a serious safety violation this documentation should never be removed from a file.

Any standard must be applied consistently. Don’t save every report of lateness for young female employees while everyone else gets a 20 minute grace period. And when you uncover some good dirt in a personnel file the only action you should take is to save or shred. Avoid the temptation to find a colleague and say, “You’ll never believe what I just read about Lou.”