Record Retention & Destruction Policy

This policy covers all records and documents, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which have been made or received by Boys & Girls Clubs of Stamford.

POLICY AND PROCEDURES 

A. RETENTION POLICY

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Stamford shall retain records for the period of their immediate or current use, unless longer retention is necessary for historical reference, or to comply with contractual or legal requirements, or for other purposes as set forth below. The records of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stamford shall be classified for purposes of retention and destruction as follows:

Category I: Permanent Retention. Records that are permanent or essential shall be retained and preserved indefinitely.

  • Permanent records. Permanent records are records required by law to be permanently retained and which are ineligible for destruction unless they are microfilmed or placed on an optical imaging system, and special measures are followed. Once these measures are followed, the original paper records may be destroyed. Duplicate copies of permanent records may be destroyed whenever they are no longer necessary for the efficient operation of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stamford. Examples of permanent records include articles of incorporation; IRS determination letter, by-laws; minutes from Board of Director’s meetings, internal and external audits and personnel hiring and disciplinary records. Not every department will have permanent records.
  • Essential records. Essential records are records necessary for the continuity of business and the protection of the rights and interests of individuals. Examples of essential records are: Grant Awards and Modifications.

Category 2: Current Records. Current records are records that for convenience, ready reference, or other reasons are retained on-site in the office. Current records shall be retained as follows:

  • Where retention period is specified by law. Where federal, state, or local law prescribes a definite period of time for retaining certain records, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stamford will retain the records for the period specified by law. Examples of records required to be maintained for a specific period are Worker’s Compensation Records, grievances, payroll records, and Accident-Injury reports.
  • Where no retention period is specified by law. Where no specific retention period is specified by law, the retention period for records that the organization is required to retain shall be seven years. Some records may be treated as “storage records” and placed in storage at any time during the applicable retention period.

Examples of current records include: correspondence, schedules and administrative records.

Category 3: Storage Records. Storage records are records that are retained off-site. Storage records are subject to the same retention requirements as current records. Examples of storage records include: invoices and payroll reports.

Category 4: No Retention Required. Documents and other materials that are not “records” need not be retained unless retention is required by local law. Documents and other materials (including originals and duplicates) that are not otherwise required to be retained, are not necessary to the functioning or continuity of the organization and which have no legal significance may be destroyed when no longer needed. Examples include materials and documents generated for the convenience of the person generating them, draft documents (other than some contracts) that have been superseded by subsequent versions, or rendered moot by organizational action, and duplicate copies of records that are no longer needed. Specific examples include telephone message slips, miscellaneous correspondence not requiring follow-up or departmental action, notepads, emails that do no contain information required to be retained under this policy, and chronological files.

With limited exceptions, no specific retention requirements are assigned to documents in this category. Instead, it is up to the originator or recipient to determine when the document’s business utility has ended.

B. RECORDS NOT ADDRESSED IN THE RECORD RETENTION POLICY

Records and other documents or materials that are not expressly addressed by the attached schedule may be destroyed at any time provided that they have been retained for the periods prescribed for substantially similar records.

C. STORAGE OF RECORDS

Records may be stored in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Stamford’s office if the records are in active use or are maintained in the office for convenience or ready reference. Examples of active files appropriately maintained in the organization’s office space include active chronological files, research and reference files, administrative files, and personnel files. Inactive records, for which use or reference has diminished sufficiently to permit removal from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Stamford’s office, may be sent to an off-site storage facility.

D. HISTORICAL RECORDS

Historical records are records that are no longer of use to the organization but which because of their age or research value may be of historical interest or significance. Historical records may not be destroyed.

E. PENDING CLAIMS AND LITIGATION

The retention periods set forth in this policy shall not apply to materials that are otherwise eligible for destruction, but which may be relevant to a pending claim or litigation against the organization. If the Boys and Girls Clubs of Stamford becomes aware of the existence of a claim against the organization, the organization will retain all documents and other materials related to the claim until such time as the claim or subsequent litigation has been resolved. If the organization has reason to believe that one or more other related locations or entities have records relating to the claim or litigation, those departments will also be notified by the organization of the need to retain such records.