Shredding,Laws,and,Your,Busine business, insurance Shredding Laws and Your Business
Small offices have unique needs, and thatincludes document shredding. Designed with the smaller business inmind, the Dahle 20314 is a cross-cut shredder that offers Level 3security and brings you into compliance with federal regulations. The As we all know to live in this world we have to perform some activity by which we can earn money. There are many activities by which we can earn money and meet the standards to live in this society. And from one of them is franchise. Franc
It is no longer a matter of commoncourtesy for you and your business to shred your customers'confidential information. The rise in identity theft crimes has causedcongress to act by passing three major pieces of legislation thatrequire businesses to completely destroy any documents containingcertain kinds of sensitive information before discarding. The penaltiesand fines can be steep, ranging from $1000 to $500,000, not to mentionthe risk of civil litigation and liability. The three pieces oflegislation are known as FACTA, HIPAA, and GLB. In this article we willdive into each of these regulations, how you can best comply, and whatthe risks of non-compliance are. Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act. Also known asFACTA, This law was signed into effect in 2003. FACTA was designedspecifically to reduce the growing risks of credit, idenity, andconsumer fraud, by requiring businesses to properly destroyconfidential information upon discarding it. Not only applying tobusinesses, the disposal rule essentially applies to every person inthe US. The information that must be discarded include: addressinformation, employment histories, credit histories, and socialsecurity numbers. The penalties for non-compliance can be pretty steep.Other than putting yourself at risk for a civil suit and the attendinglegal costs, if it can be proven that your mishandling of sensitiveinfo resulted in an identity crime being committed, your state can fineyou $1000 per infraction, and the feds can nip you for $5000 perincidence. Health Insurance Portability andAccountability Act. Known as HIPAA, this regulation applies to thehealth care industry, and is intended to prevent abuses of personalhealth information, including unauthorized access. The Institutionsthat are required to comply with the regulation are called "CoveredEntities," and include all organizations and even individuals, whocollect health-care related information. This can include doctors,urgent care centers, hospitals, billing centers, and even collectionagencies. According to HIPAA, all covered entities must have documentedpolicies that define the measures they have instituted to preventunauthorized access. Non-compliance in this case could cost theoffender a whopping $500,000. Gramm-Leach-BlileyAct. The GLB Act applies to financial institutions and requires anycompanies that are engaged in financial activities go provide securehandling of client records and information. Companies that would beincluded in this are banks, mortgage companies, insurers, andinvestment houses. You may be surprised to hear that it is not against the law for someoneto go through your trash. A 1988 Supreme Court ruling stated that oncethe trash is left for pickup, it is public domain. This is an easy wayfor your business to lose its competitive edge, as well as itscustomers' confidential information. With the ease and convenience thatis afforded by having your own shredders in house, there is no reasonfor your business to put itself at risk. One quick and easy solution isfor all of your employees who handle and regularly discard confidentialinformation to have their own desk side shredders. Or you can place alarger shredder in a central location in your office. Either way, youneed to make sure that you protect your business and your clients byshredding all confidential information. Article Tags: Confidential Information
Shredding,Laws,and,Your,Busine