Why Shred

Compliance

Your business must comply with many federal and state laws and regulations that require papers and materials containing sensitive and confidential information be securely destroyed.

The following are laws that may affect your business:

The Privacy Act of 1974

  • Established a code of fair information practice that governs the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals (e.g. social security number, phone number, etc.) that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies.
  • Further information can be found at: http://business.ftc.gov/privacy-and-security/gramm-leach-bliley-act

Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA)

  • Consumer law related to the acquisition, use and disposal of our credit information used in making lending decisions.
  • This law applies to virtually every person and business in the United States.
  • Requires businesses and individuals to take “reasonable” measures to dispose of sensitive information derived from consumer reports.
  • “Reasonable” measures are defined by the Act as burning, pulverizing or shredding of papers containing consumer information.
  • Further information can be found at: https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/statutes/fair-accurate-credit-transactions-act-2003

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)

  • Federal legislation designed to safeguard and protect consumer’s private financial information.
  • All financial institutions are covered by this law
    1. Automobile Leasing Companies
    2. Banks
    3. Credit Unions
    4. Insurance Companies
    5. Real Estate Appraisers
    6. Security Brokers
  • Requires that financial institutions and insurance companies give consumers prior notice of an intention to share personal information and a chance to opt-out of the sharing of such information.
  • Documents containing private financial information should be safely destroyed.
  • Further information can be found at: http://business.ftc.gov/privacy-and-security/gramm-leach-bliley-act

Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

  • Federal legislation designed to protect consumers from inadvertent or fraudulent disclosure of their protected health information (PHI)
  • Insurance companies and healthcare providers are mandated to comply with this law.
  • HIPAA legislation has three objectives:
    1. Reduce healthcare fraud and abuse
    2. Guarantee security and privacy of health information
    3. Enforce standards for health information
  • Examples of items to be destroyed to comply with HIPAA standards:
    1. Patient Medical Records
    2. Billing Records
    3. Insurance Records
    4. X-Rays
    5. Prescriptions
    6. Protected Health Information (PHI)
    7. Computer Disks and Hard Drives

Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH)

  • Incorporated into the American Recovery and Revitalization Act of 2009 and was designed to strengthen the security of HIPAA
  • The following are HITECH provisions which will substantially change HIPAA for healthcare facilities:
    1. Health Data Breach Notification: Requires that healthcare providers notify patients and authorities when there is a potential data breach.
    2. State’s Attorney Generals (AG) are provided with HIPAA enforcement powers: The Department of Health and Human Services has trained State AG’s to better enforce HIPAA and allows states to keep money from fines issued.
    3. Mandatory fines for some violations.
    4. Maximum fines have increased from $25,000 to $1,500,000.
  • Further information can be found at: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/

Privacy

  • Your clients and employees expect their information to be handled confidentially.
  • Outsourcing your shredding keeps your reputation out of the trash

Productivity

  • Office shredders are slow and limited to small amounts of paper and are maintenance nightmares.
  • The cost of the shredder, labor, and maintenance is usually considerably more than the cost of a qualified shredding service.

Protect the Environment

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  • Thirty-five (35)% of our landfills are taken up by the un-recycled paper.
  • The benefits to the environment are numerous.  According to the EPA, to make one ton of paper using recycled paper SAVES the following :
    • 17 Trees
    • 3 Cubic Yards of Landfill Space
    • 7,000 Gallons of Water
    • 100 Gallons of Gasoline
    • 60 Pounds of Air Pollutants
    • 4,000 Kilowatts of Electricity

 

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