On September 23, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation (SB 807), amending Article 1 § 12946 of the state’s Fair Employment Practices Law increasing from two years to four years, the requirement to maintain and preserve the following records:
- Applications, personnel, membership, or employment referral records and files (four years from when they were made or received); and
- Applicants or terminated employees’ personnel files (four years from when the employment action occurred).
The law is effective January 1, 2022.
Next Steps for Employers
Employers should update their record retention policies and procedures to ensure compliance with this law. Recruiters and/or hiring managers should also be made aware of and properly trained on these requirements to prevent destruction of these records from occurring too soon. It is recommended that employers develop a retention schedule to ensure that documents are maintained for the periods required under federal or state law and are purged when no longer required.