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Privacy protection is federal law with more and more state and local laws protecting certain types of information. Outsourcing document destruction can ensure that you are compliant with these laws.
Four important Federal Laws require specific safeguards to ensure confidentiality.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
The Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act (HIPAA), enacted by the federal government in 1996, safeguards the privacy of patient health records. The law provides for criminal charges along with stiff penalties for violation of HIPAA regulations. A full text of HIPAA regulations is available from the U.S. Department of Human Services.
Click here for the full HIPAA law.
Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH)
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH), enacted by the federal government in 2009, enhances and amplifies the HIPAA laws. A full text of HITECH regulations is available from the U.S. Department of Human Services.
Click here for the full HITECH law.
Gramm Leach Bliley Act, also known as the Financial Modernization Act of 1999
The Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLB), also known as The Financial Modernization Act of 1999, is a federal law that forces a financial institution to “respect the privacy of its customers and to protect the security and confidentiality of those customers’ non-public personal information.”
Click here to view the entire the Gramm Leach Bliley Act.
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA)
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, also known as FACTA or The FACT Act, was signed into federal law in December, 2003. The catalyst of this law was consumer fraud and related crimes, including identity theft. FACTA states that all paper documents containing identifiable consumer information must be destroyed.
Section 682.3 of The FACTA Act states:
“Any person who maintains or otherwise possesses consumer information, or any compilation of consumer information, for business purposes must properly dispose of such information by taking reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to or use of the information in connection with its disposal.”
Shredding of such documents meets the law’s standard and keeps you and your company in compliance.
Click here for additional information about The FACTA Act.
These laws provide mandated penalties for both companies and individual employees found to be in non-compliance.