For full Human Resources records retention policies, please visit the Duke Human Resources website.
If you have questions regarding historical or permanent records, please contact the Records Manager at 919-684-8066 or hillary.gatlin@duke.edu.
Introduction
The following records retention guidelines provide recommendations for the disposition of Duke University human resources and personnel records. The full records retention policy for personnel records is created by Duke Human Resources (Policies 04.08 and 02.10). For questions regarding the records retention policy, contact Duke Human Resources.
University Archives has included an abbreviated guideline below. The purpose of the abbreviated guideline is to provide targeted guidance on human resources records common to University departments and offices in an easy-to-use format. For the full human resources records retention policies, including information on accessing personnel files, please visit the Duke Human Resources website.
Using the Retention Guidelines
The abbreviated guideline lists human resources records commonly used and stored throughout University departments. For the full human resources records retention policy, including information on specific records maintained by Duke Human Resources, please visit the Duke Human Resources website.
If you have records that are not covered in the Human Resources policies, please contact the University Archives. The University Archives is the official repository for permanent but inactive documents and is a resource for creating retention guidelines for records not covered by Human Resources policies.
Human Resources Records Retention Guidelines
(Effective July 2006)
|
Record Series |
Retention |
Notes and Relevant Laws |
|
Staff Member name and any identifying number used in place of the names used on any work records |
4 years from tax due date or payment of tax, whichever is later |
Retained centrally Social Security Act |
|
Social Security Number |
4 years from tax due date or payment of tax, whichever is later |
Retained centrally Social Security Act |
|
Staff Member home address, including zip code |
4 years from tax due date or payment of tax, whichever is later |
Retained centrally Social Security Act |
|
Date of birth if the staff member is under 19 |
3 years |
Retained centrally FLSA; Equal Pay Act |
|
Date of birth for all staff members |
3 years |
Retained centrally ADEA |
|
Gender of staff member |
3 years |
Retained centrally FLSA; Equal Pay Act |
|
Occupation of staff member |
3 years |
Retained centrally FLSA; Equal Pay Act; ADEA |
|
Age records |
No time period specified by law |
Retained centrally ERISA |
|
Service record to determine whether a staff member has worked 1000 hours or has incurred a break in service |
No time period specified by law |
Retrained centrally ERISA |
|
Marital status record |
No time period specified by law |
Retained centrally ERISA |
|
Form I-9 |
3 years after hire or the date of recruitment or referral (if directed from an employment agency) or after termination, for 1 year or 3 years after hiring, whichever is later |
Retained centrally Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 |
|
Complete job application |
3 years |
Retained with Supervisor, HR Representative, or Hiring Manager ADA |
|
Resumes or other forms of employment inquiry |
3 years |
Retained with Supervisor, HR Representative, or Hiring Manager ADEA |
|
Other hiring material |
3 years |
Retained with Supervisor, HR Representative, or Hiring Manager Title VII, ADA |
|
Job orders submitted by an employer to an employment agency |
3 years |
Retained with Supervisor, HR Representative, or Hiring Manager ADEA |
|
Test papers for a position if the test paper discloses the result of the test |
3 years |
Retained with Supervisor, HR Representative, or Hiring Manager ADEA |
|
Results of any physical examination that is considered by the employer in connection with personnel action |
1 year | ADA |
|
Any advertisements relating to job openings |
3 years |
Retained with Supervisor, HR Representative, or Hiring Manager ADA |
|
Records of job movement (promotions, demotions, transfers) |
1 year | Title VII; ADA; ADEA |
|
Material relating to layoffs |
1 year | Title VII; ADA; ADEA |
|
Material relating to termination |
1 year |
Records of involuntarily terminated staff members must be kept for a period of one year from the date of termination. Title VII; ADA |
|
Selection for training or apprenticeship |
1 year | Title VII; ADA; ADEA |
|
Request for physical job accommodation |
1 year | ADA |
Additional Information
Department Files
When a staff member transfers from one department to another, the department personnel file should be forwarded to the hiring department. The current department may retain a copy of the department personnel file if desired.
Please note that information retained centrally in HR/Payroll records does not need to be kept by the department.
Duke Personnel File
The Office of Human Resources maintains a copy of each staff member’s personnel file. This file contains payroll and benefits forms as well as all change-in-status forms and other correspondence regarding a staff member’s employment history at Duke. For more information on what to include in a department personnel file, please review Duke Human Resources' video tutorial Managing Department Personnel Files.
To ensure accurate contact information and to comply with the Internal Revenue Service's tax reporting requirements, staff members must immediately report any of the following changes to their supervisor and/or to Duke Human Resources:
• Name
• Address
• Emergency contacts
• Immigration status
• Marital status
Definitions
Archives: The University Archives
Records: All recorded information, regardless of its physical form or characteristics, created or received pursuant to the transaction of university business or in the fulfillment of its educational, administrative, business or legal obligations
Record Series (or Series Title): a group/set of identical or related records, information or data that are normally used and filed or stored as a logical unit; synonymous with data set
Retention: The minimum amount of time a particular series of records should be retained prior to disposition
Notes: Additional information relevant to records retention, including relevant laws.
Notes on Records Destruction
DO NOT dispose of any human resources records or data if an investigation, legal action or proceeding, audit or program review is forthcoming or in progress.
