Have You Heard About FACTA?

KAYSVILLE, Utah, March 16, 2005 – This coming June, a new law will go into effect that will require anyone who has one or more employees to properly destroy their personal information when being discarded. This new law is called the “Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act” (FACTA). Few people are aware of this new law and even fewer are aware of the penalties involved if it is not followed. This act is designed to protect private employee information. This is the biggest personal ID protection act issued since HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996).

A failure of employers to shred or destroy private employee information could result in a class-action lawsuit or government fines. Civil and state laws warrant up to $1,000 in fines per employee violation and federal law warrants up to $2,500 per violation. This important law can be followed and fines avoided by properly destroying this information with a paper shredder. Employers cannot afford to ignore this new act.

Identity theft is an ever-growing and increasing problem in the United States. Garbage, by law, is considered unprotected and is vulnerable to dumpster divers and thieves. This means employers cannot throw employee information in the garbage and consider it properly discarded. This new law applies to all employees, even if you have just one. This means that yard workers, cleaners and nannies apply to this new rule as well.

One of the best means of destroying personal information is by using a paper shredder. Strip-cut shredders are still the preferred method of shredding, but cross-cut shredders are quickly growing in popularity. This is due, in part, to the fact that strip-cut shredders have been around longer. Strip cut shredders, especially over-the-can shredders, typically shred paper into ¼-inch strips. These strips, although hard to decipher, can still be reassembled. Cross-cut, or confetti-cut, shredders make it next to impossible to reassemble shredded documents.

If you have any questions, please call toll-free (+1-800-658-8788) Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. MST. A knowledgeable customer service representative can then assist with answering questions regarding paper shredders. Orders may be placed securely by phone or through our secure online shopping cart.

For further information, please contact David Stuart, Marketing Supervisor of ABCOffice.com, +1-800-658-8788, dstuart@abcoffice.com.

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