The "concept" of Document Shredding
Do you...
...have personally private or company confidential information which has outlived its intended purpose, but would still be useful to unauthorized personnel;, or even a competitor?
...ever dispose of copies which are too light or too dark, but still readable?
...spend money to purchase packing materials?
...maintain confidential customer account records (credit and payment history, credit applications) or employee records (medical, performance reviews, salary files, etc.)?
Remember that the Privacy Act clearly specifies proper handling, storage
and destruction procedures. Violation can result in civil or criminal penalties.
...have records which are short-lived such as reports drafts or cumulative sales data which is disposed of with subsequent revisions?
The United States Supreme Court ruling in California vs. Greenwood
deems disposed documents as public domain. The responsibility for
maintaining privacy clearly rests in the hands of the company or individual.
...have a regular retention policy?
It is interesting to note that businesses are required to retain certain records for
varying periods of time. However, should records be requested for a government
investigation, all records on hand must be produced, not just those covered under
the retention guidelines. The shredding of records as they exceed retention periods
makes good business sense.
...have a concern about the amount of floor space devoted to records storage?
The cost of office space is continuing to rise with no end in
sight.Filing cabinets full of
obsolete records are costly to keep.
...keep microfilm, microfiche, or optical storage devices as part of a records management program?
If so, what is the disposition of the document originals once microfilmed? And what
disposal method is used when a microfilm/microfiche file becomes outdated or obsolete?
...have a voluntary or mandatory office paper recycling program?
Pages being collected for disposal are a golden opportunity for
anyone, company insider or not, seeking to obtain private information.
