Data Retention Policy for Farm TimeCard
Last Updated: 2026-09-09
1. Purpose
This policy explains FarmTC's chosen retention schedule, what happens after a minimum period, and how a legal hold affects a record. A retention minimum is not an automatic deletion date. Statutory recordkeeping duties depend on the record, jurisdiction and relevant dates; they are described separately below.
2. Retention Periods
FarmTC's Chosen Schedule
| Data Type | Minimum Period and Starting Event | After the Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Time records (clock in/out events), break attestations, piece entries and time adjustments | 4 calendar years from the relevant pay-period end | Eligible privacy-request records may have selected personal fields removed or replaced; underlying time and pay evidence is retained |
| Leave requests | 4 calendar years from employment ending | Eligible privacy-request records may have selected personal fields removed or replaced |
| Audit evidence, including audit records retained for readiness review | 7 years from record creation | Retained; there is no automatic deletion at seven years |
| Oregon at-hire disclosure evidence | 4 calendar years from the later of notice supersession or employment ending | Retained for readiness review |
| User profile identifiers | Privacy-request processing, subject to applicable holds | Selected direct identifiers are removed or replaced while linked evidence remains |
| Device linkage and consent records | Privacy-request processing, subject to applicable holds | Eligible records are removed as part of completing the request |
The four-year time/pay floor and seven-year audit-evidence floor are FarmTC policy choices. They are not statements that every law uses those durations. Records with an active legal hold remain retained. When the applicable record class or starting event cannot be established, the retention workflow leaves the record unresolved rather than inventing an expiry date.
Location attached to a time event is part of that retained event. Removing selected personal fields does not by itself remove its coordinates, erase the event or make all retained data anonymous. Collection choices and permitted purposes are described in our Privacy Policy.
Payroll snapshots, exported packages, operational logs, backups and provider-held copies can have distinct lifecycles. This schedule does not promise a single deletion deadline for all copies.
3. Statutory Recordkeeping Context
These examples describe different records and starting events; they are not interchangeable:
- California: Labor Code § 226(a) sets a minimum of three years for wage-statement copies and deduction records. It does not establish the four-year FarmTC policy above.
- Federal payroll records: 29 CFR 516.5 generally specifies at least three years from the last entry for payroll records. 29 CFR 516.6 specifies at least two years for certain supporting time, earnings and wage-rate records, with its own starting events.
- Employment tax records: IRS recordkeeping guidance describes a four-year period after filing the fourth quarter for the year, and longer periods for certain credit documentation. That starting event differs from a pay-period end.
Employers remain responsible for identifying applicable longer periods and retaining the records needed for their circumstances. FarmTC supports that work through records, exports and retention holds.
4. Data Deletion
Retention and Recovery
Reaching a minimum makes an eligible action possible; it does not prove that the action has run. Our privacy-request workflow records retained, held, pending and completed outcomes separately. Unresolved captured work remains part of recovery and is not subject to a promised thirty-day deletion schedule.
Upon Request
Employees may request data deletion by contacting their employer or support@farmtimecard.com. Deletion requests are subject to:
- Verification of identity
- Applicable recordkeeping duties and active legal holds
- The affected record's schedule and the request's scope
Account Termination
When an employer terminates their subscription:
- A data export is offered
- Subscription cancellation does not erase the underlying records
- Retention and privacy requests continue to follow the applicable record schedule and holds
5. Data Export
Authorized users can prepare supported exports through:
- The Audit Readiness feature
- Individual employee time reports
- Payroll period exports
Exports are provided in standard formats (CSV, JSON) for portability.
6. Secure Disposal
Eligible actions can remove a record or replace selected personal fields while preserving the linked evidence. The result is recorded for readiness review. Pseudonymization is not deletion or a guarantee of anonymity. A completed local action does not establish deletion from a provider, exported copy or backup; those outcomes need their own applicable process and evidence.
7. Contact
For questions about data retention, contact:
- Email: support@farmtimecard.com
- Subject Line: "Data Retention Inquiry"