Since March of this year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released guidance on a near-monthly basis addressing various FAQs concerning COVID-19 issues. The guidance has focused on disability-related inquiries, confidentiality, hiring, and reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as issues under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
National Biometric Information Privacy Act, Proposed by Sens. Jeff Merkley and Bernie Sanders
Whether it is facial recognition technology being used in connection with COVID-19 screening tools and in law enforcement, continued use of fingerprint-based time management systems, or the use of various biometric identifiers for physical security and access management, applications involving biometric identifiers and information in the public and private sectors continue to grow. Concerns about
Will the Public Health Emergency Privacy Act Make it into the Next Stimulus Package?
Despite several attempts, Congress has struggled to push forward a federal consumer privacy law over the past few years. But the COVID-19 pandemic, which has raised concerns regarding location monitoring, GPS tracking and use of health data, has heightened the urgency for federal consumer privacy legislation. In May, a group of Democrats from the U.S.
New Ransomware Tactics and Strains Emerge, Including Public Auctions of Stolen Data
As many have learned over the last several years, ransomware is a type of malware that denies affected users access to critical data by encrypting it. Attackers profit handsomely by requiring victims to pay substantial sums, typically tendered in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. A look at some of the numbers over the past two
EEOC Issues Guidance on Antibody Testing in the Workplace
In late-March and April 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released guidance addressing various questions with answers concerning COVID-19 and related workplace disability-related issues under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Recently, on June 17th, the EEOC updated its guidance to include a new question regarding antibody testing.
Most of the questions
Addressing the COVID19 Risks of Your Third-Party Service Providers and Vendors
States are reopening – find out which ones here. As they do, organizations will begin and/or continue adhering to a complex set of distancing, screening, capacity, sanitization, mask, posting, reporting, and other guidelines designed to maintain COVID19 curve flattening efforts. For organizations with operations in multiple states, the patchwork of federal, state, and local
California AG Urges Consumers to be Vigilant While Online During the COVID-19 Pandemic
With California’s mandatory COVID-19 stay-at home orders impacting some 40 million people by forcing the vast majority of them to connect remotely to work, go to school, order necessities, socialize and do many other things, California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra recently issued an alert reminding consumers of their privacy rights and to encourage them to
Federal COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Bill Introduced
As the COVID-19 pandemic presses on, legislators and regulators continue to remind the public of the importance of data security and privacy protections. On April 30th, U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced plans to introduce (jointly with several co-sponsors) the COVID-19 Consumer Data
Examples of COVID19 Screening, Social Distancing, and Contact Tracing Technologies and Related Legal and Practical Issues
As organizations work feverishly to return to business in many areas of the country, they are mobilizing to meet the myriad of challenges for providing safe environments for their workers, customers, students, patients, and visitors. Chief among these challenges are screening for COVID19 symptoms, observing social distancing, contact tracing, and wearing masks. Fortunately, innovators are
Out of Sight is Not Out of Mind – Monitoring Workers Working From Home
Just over a month ago, we provided a high-level checklist to help organizations think about critical issues as employees begin working from home to reduce the spread of COVID19. Consistent with “shelter-in-place”/”stay at home” orders, millions of workers that can are now working from home. However, out of sight is not out mind as many