Shred This: Identity Theft Law Affects Small Business

“The Fair and Accurate Transactions Act (FACTA) was passed to help protect all of us against identity theft. But, a single provision in this new law opens up small employers, even those with a single employee, to lawsuits if they do not properly destroy (i.e., shred) any documents or papers containing personal information about their employees before throwing it away. USA Today reports that small and medium employers may face significant risk due to this new law. (…)

The new law says that if you employ even one person — a nanny, a yard man — and you have their personal information because you’re doing the right thing and paying Social Security taxes, you have to “destroy” the information before you throw it away. You have to shred it or burn it or pulverize it. (…)

Shredders are going to become “a household requirement as much as a washer and dryer,” says Bob Johnson, executive director of the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), a paper-shredding industry trade group. Already, personal shredders are becoming so ubiquitous that Williams-Sonoma in its latest catalog offers its first-ever combination shredder/garbage can for your kitchen (for $229). And architect Michael Graves has designed a cool shredder for Target ($35).”

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