Recordkeeping Requirements

EEOC Regulations require that employers keep all personnel or employment records for one year. If an employee is involuntarily terminated, his/her personnel records must be retained for one year from the date of termination.

Under ADEA recordkeeping requirements, employers must also keep all payroll records for three years. Additionally, employers must keep on file any employee benefit plan (such as pension and insurance plans) and any written seniority or merit system for the full period the plan or system is in effect and for at least one year after its termination.

Under Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) recordkeeping requirements applicable to the EPA, employers must keep payroll records for at least three years. In addition, employers must keep for at least two years all records (including wage rates, job evaluations, seniority and merit systems, and collective bargaining agreements) that explain the basis for paying different wages to employees of opposite sexes in the same establishment.

These requirements apply to all employers covered by Federal anti-discrimination laws, regardless of whether a charge has been filed against the employer. 

When a Charge Has Been Filed

The EEOC Notice of Charge form that you receive should explain the agency's record keeping requirements. When an EEOC charge has been filed against your company, you should retain personnel or employment records relating to the issues under investigation as a result of the charge, including those related to the charging party or other persons alleged to be aggrieved and to all other employees holding or seeking positions similar to that held or sought by the affected individual(s).

Once a charge is filed, these records must be kept until the final disposition of the charge or any lawsuit based on the charge. When a charge is not resolved after investigation, and the charging party has received a notice of right to sue, "final disposition" means the date of expiration of the 90-day statutory period within which the aggrieved person may bring suit or, where suit is brought by the charging party or the EEOC, the date on which the litigation is terminated, including any appeals.

Summary of Selected Recordkeeping Obligations in 29 CFR Part 1602