subject: Will Destroying Documents Reduce Corporate Liability? [print this page] When you're working for or operating a large corporation of any kind, one of the concerns that you're always going to be contending with is that of corporate liability. There are a number of different situations which can leave a company liable for exposure of private information. This is why most companies of a certain size retain the use of a professional commercial shredder.
It is important to realize that the law is very clear about the fact that a citizen's private information always belongs to them. That means that even if you are authorized to obtain that information for a specific reason, it is still their information, and you are obliged to protect your possession of that information. This extends both to information that you may have collected from your clients or customers, as well as that of your employees.
Customer information that is provided can include any account information, as well as any banking or payment info. Many companies also forget about the information that they have on their employees. This can include banking or account information, but also definitely extends to the criminal or credit checks that many companies do on their employees when they first hire them. This information all has to be protected, and the easiest way to do that is to destroy it as soon as it is no longer needed.
If information that was in a company's possession was to be obtained by a third party, they could certainly be held liable for that release. That is why the use of a professional shredding firm is so useful in so many cases. These companies are experts in making sure that the paper is totally destroyed so that no information can be gleaned from it.
Ideally, you should look for a company that is willing to do your document destruction on site. This means that all the paperwork will stay at your location, but the company will come to you with their equipment. They can then destroy all of the documents without ever leaving your location. You can either dispose of the shredded paper yourself or have them do it in some fashion. These companies should always be willing to sign confidentiality agreements so that they are legally bound not to reveal any of the information that they might even accidentally be exposed to while shredding the documents in questions, further protecting the information which belongs to your customers and your employees.
