Personnel records must be kept for which duration?

• A. One year after last day on the job
• B. Two years after last day on the job
• C. One year after last day on the job, or until any investigation involving the employee is resolved, whichever is longer
• D. Indefinitely

Answer: (C)

Retaining personnel records serves to have documentation available for personnel actions, audits, and potential disputes. The rule specifies keeping records for one year after the employee’s last day on the job, or until any investigation involving the employee is resolved, whichever takes longer. This guarantees you’re not discarding records too soon if an investigation is still open, while also avoiding unnecessary, perpetual retention. If you only kept them for a fixed year, an investigation could extend beyond that, leaving you without needed information. If you kept them indefinitely, that would be more than required and could raise privacy and storage concerns. The longer-of-two requirement provides the right balance between accessibility for investigations and responsible data retention.