Document shredding is not only important to protect your company from identity theft, but the law also orders it. Different industries have established different laws to ensure that the respective companies carry out the document disposal once they are rendered unwanted to the company. Should anyone fail to adhere to these shredding laws, they can be punished by the government.

Shredding Laws

The following are three main shredding laws that every company needs to comply with:

1. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) dates back to 1995. According to this act, every medical professional, be it independent or otherwise, should shred all the discarded documents containing patients’ private information. These details include personal telephone numbers, email addresses, medical records, and anything that has the patient’s signature on it. The entire medical industry should comply with this act; otherwise, they will be deemed offenders and punished accordingly.

2. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) dates back to 1999. According to this law, every financial institute, such as banks, insurance companies, loan associations, credit unions, and brokerage firms, among others, are obliged to dispose of their customers’ data. Every piece of paper that has any customer’s personal information should be protected until it is no longer required, in which case the data should be moved forward for disposal. If the company fails to shred these documents in compliance with The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), it shall be punished by the law accordingly, regardless of how big of a name it is.

3. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA)

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) dates back to 2003. According to this act, documents that contain confidential data should be shredded responsibly. This act also entails that all those customers who enroll their names and provide personal information to the company have a right to privacy. Hence, their data should be protected at all costs. Once the business is concluded, every company is entitled to dispose of these documents to safeguard the client’s interest. Anyone who does not comply with this act is deemed to break the law and will be punished accordingly.

Final Word

According to the laws mentioned in this article, every company, regardless of the industry they are working in, needs to responsibly shred those documents that are no longer required.