Sensitive Document Destruction Laws

Government regulations and legislation have enacted laws that require documents containing
sensitive customer information be completely destroyed rather than merely disposed of.
Automated Shredding makes it very simple and affordable to comply with these laws by
providing you with confidential secure shredding.

Below is a list of legislations that outline the laws regarding proper disposal of certain
documents.

Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act (HIPAA) - puts very strict guidelines
on the healthcare industry, assuring that healthcare organizations be responsible for the
secure disposal of patient information. If a covered entity fails to apply destruction policies
uniformly or where destruction is contrary to policy, courts may allow a jury to infer in a
negligence suit that if records were available, they would show the medical facility acted
improperly in treating the patient. Failure to comply with this law could result in heavy fines
as well as loss of business. Automated Shredding provides HIPAA compliant destruction of
medical records, patient documents, etc.

For more information on HIPAA, visit http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/.
   
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) - includes provisions to protect consumers’
personal financial information held by financial institutions, which includes not only banks,
securities firms, and insurance companies, but also companies providing other types of
financial services and products to consumers. The GLBA requires banks to develop privacy
notices and provide customers with the option of prohibiting the sharing of their
confidential information with outside third parties. On July 1, 2001, the GLBA was
amended with the requirement that financial institutions must have a comprehensive,
written information security program which includes the proper destruction of
documents.

Visit http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/glbact.html for more information on
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) - mandates that businesses
properly dispose of documents containing consumer information. Businesses are required
to take measures to destroy all consumer reports to the point that they will not be
reconstructed or reread.  Not complying with the FACTA law may result in fines, class
action lawsuits as well as federal and state authorities bringing legal enforcement actions
for violation of this law.

For more information on FACTA, visit http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/06/disposal.shtm.