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30 FEDA News & Views Record Retention All HR departments must adhere to record retention standards by keeping or purging certain records each year. Below is a table describing several record reten- tion guidelines, including the length of time to keep certain records and the types of records to retain. 1 year Physical exam results; employment tests, results and validation; ADA applica- tions and other personnel records and requests for reasonable accommoda- tion (keep for one year after personnel action) 2 years VETS-4212 Report; applications, resumes, other inquires sent to employ- er; help-wanted ads, job-opening notic- es, notices for opportunities for train- ing, promotions, overtime, job-opening notices sent to employment agencies or labor unions; employee personnel fi les (including hiring, disciplinary notices, promotions, demotions, discharges, train- ing, tests, physicals, transfers, layoffs and recalls, job evaluations, merit systems, seniority systems) 3 years I-9s (or one year after termination); FMLA documentation (three years after hire or one year after termination); poly- graph tests; business records, including yearly total sales volume, total goods pur- chased; union contracts and individual employee contracts 5 years Drug testing; OSHA forms 300, 301 and 300A; compensation insurance, or for occupational injury or disease; fi rst aid records of job injuries causing loss of work time 6 years Standard ERISA documents (benefi ts plan, disclosure of Plan Description, Annual Reports Summary of Annual Reports, and Summary Plan Description) 7 years Employee wage records (time cards, wage rate tables, shift schedules, hours and days of employees) records explain- ing wage differentials, deductions from pay; all payroll records 30 years Required medical exams and exposure records (OSHA) Document & System Modifi cations At year-end, you will need to make numerous changes and modifi cations to existing records, documents and systems based on modifi cations to laws, regula- tions, internal operations, jobs, compen- sation, benefi ts, and employees' person- al situations. Below is a table detailing common changes most HR departments need to make. Policies Review policies in your employee handbook and make changes based on new or modifi ed laws, regulations, or internal operations. Job descriptions If any employee's job duties, titles, and/ or FLSA exemption status has changed, job descriptions should be modifi ed. Compensation/Payroll Adjust payroll to refl ect changes in sal- ary/wage adjustments, merit increases, minimum wage increases, and changes to withholding for benefi ts or taxes. Benefi ts Change benefi t levels for defi ned con- tribution and benefi t plans; adjust ben- efi t contributions; and make changes per healthcare reform provisions. Performance Reviews Update employees' fi les with their year-end performance review. Document the review in your HR information sys- tem (or other applicable database). Rewards and Training Update employees' fi les and your HR information systems/databases with their documented rewards, recognition, training, and development from this past year. Employee information Update employees' address, personal, demographic, and emergency informa- tion in your HRIS or fi les. Planning At year-end, HR usually needs to plan for its operations, upcoming projects, and strategic/continuous improvement initiatives in 2017. Below are several planning tasks that you will want to con- duct heading into early 2017. Hiring & Staffi ng Meet with each of your managers to evaluate their staffi ng needs by depart- ment and plan sourcing strategies. Consider retirements, terminations, pro- motions, turnover, company strategy, and other changes to staffi ng levels. Year-End HR Checklist The end of the year is a great time to review existing documents, systems and Human Resources administrative practices. Here is a three-step guide listing the most common HR duties that should be addressed before the New Year.