OAR 166-400-0045: Payroll Records

(1) Deduction Authorization Records Records documenting employee application and authorization for voluntary payroll deductions, direct bank deposits, and related actions. Payroll deductions are directly deposited or remitted to the authorized financial institution, insurance company, or other agency or vendor. Records may include insurance applications, enrollment cards, deduction authorizations, approval notices, deduction terminations, and related records. Minimum retention: 3 years after superseded, terminated, or employee separates. (2) Deduction Registers Registers or records serving the same function of documenting voluntary and/or required deductions from the gross pay of agency employees. Types of deductions include federal income and social security taxes, state tax, workers’ compensation, union dues, insurance, deferred compensation, credit union, parking permit, prewritten checks, garnishments, levies, charitable contributions, and others. Information may include employee name and number, pay period, social security number, total deductions, net pay, check number, and related data. Minimum retention: (a) Retain registers documenting state and federal taxes: 5 years (b) Retain all other registers: 3 years. (3) Employee Payroll Records Records document school, district, or ESD individual employee pay history. Records include but are not limited to source documents authorizing payroll deductions and withholding such as retirement enrollment forms, insurance applications, and beneficiary designations, leave authorization records, pay related personnel action documents, garnishment orders, child support claim records, electronic deposit authorizations, work out of class and overtime authorizations, deduction reports, and correspondence. SEE ALSO Employee Personnel Records in the Personnel Records section. Minimum retention: (a) Retain PERS enrollment forms, official copy: 75 years after date of hire (b) Retain all other records: 3 years after employee separation. (4) Employee Time and Attendance Records Records document school, district, or ESD employee attendance and time worked. Records may include but are not limited to time cards or sheets; monthly summary reports of employee attendance; forms used to record attendance, sick, vacation, overtime, and compensatory time; leave requests and approval forms; leave records; absence, sick, and vacation leave summary reports; overtime authorization or certification; staff attendance logs; substitute teacher logs; and related documentation and correspondence. Minimum retention: 4 years. (5) Federal and State Tax Records Records, in addition to those itemized in this section, used to report the collection, distribution, deposit, and transmittal of federal and state income taxes as well as social security tax. Examples include the federal miscellaneous income statement (1099), request for taxpayer identification number and certificate (W-9), employer’s quarterly federal tax return (941, 941E), tax deposit coupon (8109), and similar federal and state completed forms. Minimum retention: (a) Retain for the retention of records documenting expenditure of grant funds: see Grant Records in the Financial section (b) Retain all other records: 4 years. (6) Garnishment Records Records documenting requests and court orders to withhold wages from employee earnings for garnishments, tax levies, support payments, and other reasons. Usually includes original writs of garnishment, orders to withhold for the Oregon Department of Human Resources, federal or state tax levies, recapitulations of amounts withheld, and related records. Information usually includes employee name and number, name of agency ordering garnishment, amount, name of party to whom payment is submitted, dates, and related data. Minimum retention: 3 years after resolution. (7) Leave Applications Applications or requests submitted by employees for sick, vacation, compensatory, personal business, family and medical leave, long term leave, and other leave time. Information usually includes employee name, department, date, leave dates requested, type of leave requested, and related data. SEE ALSO Employee Time Records in this section. Minimum retention: 3 years. (8) Leave Balance Reports Reports documenting individual employee accrual and use of sick, vacation, compensatory, personal business, family and medical leave, and other leave time. Information usually includes employee name and number, social security number, leave beginning balance, leave time accrued, leave time used, ending balance, and related data. SEE ALSO Employee Benefits Records in the Personnel section. Minimum retention: (a) Retain year-end leave balance reports: 75 years after date of hire (b) Retain all other reports: 4 years. (9) Payroll Administrative Reports Records document school, district, or ESD payroll statistics, payroll budget preparation, projections, workload and personnel management, and payroll research. Records may include but are not limited to recapitulation reports organizing wages, deductions, and other data into categories such as quarter-to-date, year-to-date, fiscal year-to-date, department, division, section, employee/employer contributions, and others. Minimum retention: 3 years. (10) Payroll Registers Records document the earnings, voluntary and required deductions, and withholdings of school, district, and ESD employees. Records include but are not limited to monthly listings of all paid employees with details of their earnings and deductions. Minimum retention: (a) Retain year-end payroll register: 75 years (b) Retain leave accrual and monthly payroll registers: 10 years (c) Retain all other registers: 3 years (11) Unemployment Compensation Claim Records Records document claims submitted by former school, district, or ESD employees for unemployment compensation. Records include but are not limited to claims, notices, reports, claim determination appeal records, and related documentation and correspondence. Minimum retention: 3 years (12) Unemployment Reports Records document school, district, or ESD employee earnings on a quarterly basis. Records are used to determine the costs and charges in the event of an unemployment compensation claim. Information in the records includes employee name, social security number, quarterly earnings, days worked, totals, and other data. Minimum retention: 3 years (13) Wage and Tax Statements Annual statements documenting individual employee earnings and withholdings for state and federal income taxes and social security tax. Also known as federal tax form W-2. Information includes agency name and tax identification number, employee name and social security number, wages paid, amounts withheld, and related data. Minimum retention: 5 years (14) Withholding Allowance Certificates Certificates documenting the exemption status of individual agency employees. Also described as W-4 forms. Information includes employee name and address, social security number, designation of exemption status, and signature. Minimum retention: 5 years after superseded or employee separates