Employers Ultimate Guide to the Duration of Keeping Employee Paystubs

The government has rules and regulations that govern different aspects of businesses that owners have to adhere to and you should know now! As an employer, one of your primary tasks will be maintaining various information for your employees shown on this site including paystubs and identifying documents. However, this does not mean you have to keep them forever, there is a specific duration for that but just how long should keeping these sensitive documents take? Continue reading to learn the answers to all these questions.

A minimum of two years if the duration you have to keep your employees’ paystub records if that was your first question; it may seem inconvenient to some people but you never when this sensitive information may come in handy. If you have done a wonderful job of keeping your employees’ paystubs for at least two years, it is always advisable to check the state laws and regulations regarding this duration which can differ from one state to another.

You need to know where to know or have a safe location to keep your employee pay stubs and information relating to working hours and wages to avoid them falling into the wrong hands; keep them under lock and key while remaining easily accessible at any time. When you are choosing a location for your employees’ paystubs and other sensitive information, you should not only be thinking about convenience but security too; only employees with the right clearance should be allowed to access them.

Hefty fines and lawsuits are some of the dire consequences that usually come with allowing your employees’ sensitive information like social security numbers to be leaked or accessed by unauthorized persons, which is why you need state-of-the-art security. Paystubs and information relating to hours and wages should be kept by every business owner for at least two years, however there are some that should be kept for at least while others need to remain in the records for even longer; your don’t just stop with paystubs.

Other important documents like purchase and sales records should be stored in the same location as the paystubs and other employee-related documents and given the same level of security. As you can see, these documents should be kept for at least two years although state rules may say otherwise. Now you know exactly how long you should keep employee paystubs.