Final answer:
Employment records must be retained for at least one year after the record is made or the action is taken under federal law, influenced by statutes including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, ADA, ADEA, and regulations such as those by the EEOC.
Step-by-step explanation:
The requirement for how long employment records must be kept under federal law varies depending on the statute involved. Federal laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) along with various regulations require employers to maintain employment records for at least one year after the date the record was made or the date of a personnel action, whichever is later. Apart from directly related federal laws, other regulations such as those from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which is responsible for enforcing these federal laws, may extend this record-keeping requirement. For example, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 effectively resets the clock for filing a pay discrimination claim with each discriminatory paycheck, thus influencing how long payroll records need to be retained.