Are Electronic Signatures Legal in the US?
Yes.
Two Acts establish the legality of electronic signatures in the United States – the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN, 2000) and theUniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA, 1999).
Both ESIGN and UETA establish that electronic records and signatures carry the same weight and legal effect as traditional paper documents and handwritten signatures stating:
A document or signature cannot be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form.
Source: Jonathan Tellier
How HROnboard deals with electronic signatures
In order to qualify as an electronic signature under ESIGN and UETA, the system that is used to capture the electronic transaction must either:
- keep an associated record reflecting the process by which the signature was created or
- make a textual or graphic statement that is added to the signed record, reflecting the fact that it was executed with an electronic signature.
HROnboard addresses this by:
Maintaining an Offer Record
A unique record is created for each job offer created in HROnboard.
As the offer moves through the various stages in the workflow, a full audit trail of actions is recorded against the record (known as the Offer File) and viewable by authorised back office users.
Offer Acceptance Process
When accepting an offer in HROnboard, the notification sent to the candidate clearly states in order to accept the offer they must go through an online process. See Notifying the Employee of an Offer
In order to accept an offer, the user must login to the portal using the details sent to their email address and confirm a validation code sent to their cell phone. See Offer and Policy Acceptance Page.
Further Reading and References
For further information on electronic signatures in the US, please click through to the link below: