The American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity (AAAED) takes seriously its obligations to preserve information relating to litigation, audits, and investigations.
The information listed in the retention schedule below is intended as a guideline and may not contain all the records AAAED may be required to keep in the future. Questions regarding the retention of documents not listed in this chart should be directed to the Executive Director.
From time to time, the Executive Director may issue a notice, known as a “legal hold,” suspending the destruction of records due to pending, threatened, or otherwise reasonably foreseeable litigation, audits, government investigations, or similar proceedings. No records specified in any legal hold may be destroyed, even if the scheduled destruction date has passed, until the legal hold is withdrawn in writing by the Executive Director.
| File Category | Item | Retention Period |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate Records | Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation | Permanent |
| Corporate resolutions | Permanent | |
| Board and committee meeting agendas and minutes | Permanent | |
| Conflict-of-interest disclosure forms | 4 years | |
| Finance and Administration | Financial statements (audited) | 7 years |
| Auditor management letters | 7 years | |
| Payroll Records | 7 years | |
| Check register and checks | 7 years | |
| Bank deposits and statements | 7 years | |
| Chart of accounts | 7 years | |
| General ledgers and journals (includes bank reconciliations) | 7 years | |
| Investment performance reports | 7 years | |
| Equipment files and maintenance records | 7 years after disposition | |
| Contracts and agreements | 7 years after all obligations end | |
| Correspondence — general | 3 years | |
| Insurance Records | Policies — occurrence type | Permanent |
| Policies — claims-made type | Permanent | |
| Accident reports | 7 years | |
| Safety (OSHA) reports | 7 years | |
| Claims (after settlement) | 7 years | |
| Group disability records | 7 years after end of benefits | |
| Real Estate | Deeds | Permanent |
| Leases (expired) | 7 years after all obligations end | |
| Mortgages, security agreements | 7 years after all obligations end | |
| Tax | IRS exemption determination and related correspondence | Permanent |
| IRS Form 990s | 7 years | |
| Charitable Organizations Registration Statements | 7 years | |
| Human Resources | Employee personnel files | Permanent |
| Retirement plan benefits (plan descriptions, plan documents) | Permanent | |
| Employee handbooks | Permanent | |
| Workers comp claims (after settlement) | 7 years | |
| Employee orientation and training materials | 7 years after use ends | |
| Employment applications | 3 years | |
| IRS Form I-9 (store separate from personnel file) | Greater of 1 year after end of service, or three years | |
| Withholding tax statements | 7 years | |
| Timecards | 3 years | |
| Technology | Software licenses and support agreements | 7 years after all obligations end |
1. Electronic Documents and Records.
Electronic documents will be retained as if they were paper documents. Therefore, any electronic files that fall into one of the document types on the above schedule will be maintained for the appropriate amount of time. If a user has sufficient reason to keep an e-mail message, the message should be printed in hard copy and kept in the appropriate file or moved to an “archive” computer file folder. Backup and recovery methods will be tested on a regular basis.
2. Emergency Planning.
The Organization’s records will be stored in a safe, secure, and accessible manner. Documents and financial files that are essential to keeping the Organization operating in an emergency will be duplicated or backed up at least every week and maintained off-site.
3. Document Destruction.
The Executive Director is responsible for the ongoing process of identifying its records that have met the required retention period, and overseeing their destruction. Destruction of financial and personnel-related documents will be accomplished by shredding.
Document destruction will be suspended immediately, upon any indication of an official investigation or when a lawsuit is filed or appears imminent. Destruction will be reinstated upon conclusion of the investigation.
4. Compliance.
Failure on the part of employees to follow this policy can result in possible civil and criminal sanctions against AAAED and its employees and possible disciplinary action against responsible individuals. The Executive Director and Board Chair will periodically review these procedures with legal counsel or the organization’s certified public accountant to ensure that they are in compliance with new or revised regulations.
Privacy Notice Table Of Contents:
Our Commitment To Privacy
The Information We Collect
How We Use Information
Our Commitment To Data Security
Our Commitment To Children's Privacy
How To Access Or Correct Your Information
How To Contact Us
Our Commitment To Privacy
Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. To make this notice easy to find, we will make it available on our homepage.
The Information We Collect:
This notice applies to all information collected or submitted on the AAAED website. On some pages, you can order products, make requests, register for training and to receive materials. The types of personal information collected at these pages are:
Name
Address
Email address
Phone number
Credit/Debit Card Information
On some pages, you can submit information about other people. For example, if you register for another person or order a gift online and want it sent directly to the recipient, you will need to submit the recipient's address. In this circumstance, the types of personal information collected include:
Name
Address
Phone Number
Email Address
The Way We Use Information:
We use the information you provide about yourself when placing an order for memberships, training, job vacancies, to receive information or to purchase merchandise only to complete that order. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to complete that order.
We use the information you provide about someone else when placing an order or for the above-mentioned services only to arrange training or to ship a product and to confirm delivery. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to complete that order.
You can register with our website if you would like to receive information about the Association through our mailing list and informational emails about new products and services. Information you submit on our website will not be used for this purpose unless you fill out the registration form.
We use non-identifying and aggregate information to better design our website and to share with advertisers. For example, we may tell an advertiser that X number of individuals visited a certain area on our website, or that Y number of men and Z number of women filled out our registration form, but we would not disclose anything that could be used to identify those individuals.
Finally, we never use or share the personally identifiable information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also providing you an opportunity to opt-out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated uses.
Our Commitment To Data Security
To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we work with our service providers to put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
Our Commitment to Children's Privacy:
Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important. For that reason, we never collect or maintain information at our website from those we actually know are under 13, and no part of our website is structured to attract anyone under 13.
How You Can Access or Correct Your Information
You can access all of your personally identifiable information that we collect online and maintain by contacting AAAED (officeadministrator@aaaed.org). We use this procedure to better safeguard your information. You can correct factual errors in your personally identifiable information by sending us a request that credibly shows error.
To protect your privacy and security, we will also take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.
How To Contact Us
Should you have other questions or concerns about these privacy policies, please call us at (202) 349-9855 or send us an email at officeadministrator@aaaed.org.