CRM Records Retention & Disposition 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which document formally authorizes the destruction of records that have met their retention requirements?
- Records inventory form
- Certificate of destruction
- Disposition authorization form (Correct answer)
- Legal hold notice
Correct answer: Disposition authorization form
A disposition authorization form (or records destruction authorization) must be approved before any eligible records can be destroyed.
Question 2: A company receives a litigation hold notice after its general retention schedule calls for destroying certain emails next week. What is the correct action?
- Proceed with destruction because the schedule predates the notice
- Suspend destruction of all potentially relevant records immediately (Correct answer)
- Destroy only the emails unrelated to the litigation
- Request a court order before suspending destruction
Correct answer: Suspend destruction of all potentially relevant records immediately
A litigation hold supersedes any existing retention schedule, requiring immediate suspension of destruction for potentially relevant records.
Question 3: The term 'vital records' in records management refers to records that are:
- Older than 50 years and of historical significance
- Essential to resume or continue operations after a disaster (Correct answer)
- Required by federal law to be retained permanently
- Stored in climate-controlled vaults
Correct answer: Essential to resume or continue operations after a disaster
Vital records are those necessary for an organization to continue or resume critical operations following a disaster or emergency.
Question 4: Which retention trigger is based on the date an action or event occurs rather than the date a record was created?
- Creation date trigger
- Event-based trigger (Correct answer)
- Fiscal year trigger
- Cutoff trigger
Correct answer: Event-based trigger
An event-based trigger starts the retention clock when a specific event happens, such as contract expiration or employee termination.
Question 5: Under US federal regulations, employer payroll records must generally be retained for a minimum of how many years?
- 1 year
- 3 years (Correct answer)
- 7 years
- 10 years
Correct answer: 3 years
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to retain payroll records for at least 3 years.
Question 6: What is the primary purpose of a records retention schedule?
- To categorize records by their physical format
- To document how long each record series must be kept and its final disposition (Correct answer)
- To list all employees who have access to records
- To establish backup procedures for electronic records
Correct answer: To document how long each record series must be kept and its final disposition
A retention schedule identifies each record series, specifies its retention period, and defines the final disposition action (destroy, transfer, archive).
Question 7: Which method of destruction is most appropriate for confidential paper records containing personally identifiable information (PII)?
- Recycling in standard bins
- Cross-cut or micro-cut shredding (Correct answer)
- Burning in an open fire
- Tearing by hand before disposal
Correct answer: Cross-cut or micro-cut shredding
Cross-cut or micro-cut shredding renders PII unreadable and unrecoverable, meeting most regulatory standards for secure destruction.
CRM Records Retention & Disposition 2
Which document formally authorizes the destruction of records that have met their retention requirements?