90294 Toxic Substances Training and Education Files
Course material, attendance records, correspondence, and memoranda documenting the training and education of employees in the proper use and handling of toxic substances, and compliance with federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements.

Minimum Retention and Disposition: Destroy 3 years after employee separation from agency. Destroy summary records, including course material, 3 years after separation of all concerned employees from agency.

Justification: 12 NYCRR 820.4 requires employers to maintain records of toxic substance training until employee separation. The additional 3 years will cover the need for these records in personal injury litigation under Section 214 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.

Records Not Covered: Records of the Occupational Safety and Health - Hazard Abatement Board, located in the NYS Department of Labor, that document its oversight of agency toxic substances training and education programs.

Note: Before disposing of these records, agencies must ensure that no legal actions have been initiated which might require access to them. If a case-by-case review of files is impractical, the Office of the Attorney General advises retaining the records an additional 3 months beyond the minimum retention period. Agencies may also wish to retain a record of training provided to specific employees as a part of Employee Training History records (see item #90022 in the Training section of this schedule).