On April 20, 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of California against Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. The lawsuit was initiated by a former employee whose W-2 was allegedly disclosed as part of a phishing scam that occurred in late March 2016 amid reports that Sprouts’ employees
EEOC Files Suit Targeting Employment Application “Health History”
On March 22, 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) filed suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri against Grisham Farm Products, Inc. alleging that its employment application violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (“GINA”). Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Grisham Farm
Tennessee Amends Breach Notification Statute
On March 24, 2016, Tennessee’s breach notification statute was amended when Governor Bill Haslam signed into law S.B. 2005.
Under the amendment, notification of a data breach must now be provided to any affected Tennessee resident within 45-days after discovery of the breach (absent a delay request from law enforcement). Previously, and like the
FCC Chair Proposes New Broadband Rules
One year ago, in March 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) reclassified broadband Internet access service as a common carrier Telecommunications Service subject to regulation under Title II of the Communications Act. At that time, however, the FCC recognized that the then-current rules were not well suited to broadband privacy. On March 10, 2016, the
Check Your Spam Filter, You Might Have Been Selected for a HIPAA Audit!
Yesterday, the federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced Phase 2 of its HIPAA Audit Program (Program). In its announcement, the OCR reports that the Program is underway and provides some helpful FAQs for covered entities and business associates about the Program. Preparation is critical and there are some key points covered entities and business
Should We Train Our Employees About Good Data Privacy and Security Practices?
Yes! It is the law in more places and circumstances than you suspect.
- Check out our report to learn more, including suggestions for setting up a training program.
Late last year, The Wall Street Journal reported on a survey by the Association of Corporate Counsel (“ACC”) that found “employee error” is the most common reason
The Inexplicit Requirement and Definitive Necessity for Employers to Implement Privacy Policies
In the face of seemingly daily news reports of company data breaches and the mounting legislative concern and efforts on both the state and federal level to enact laws safeguarding personal information maintained by companies, employers should be questioning whether they should implement privacy policies to address the protection of personal information they maintain on
Internet of Things Bill Introduced
Recognizing the growing number of connected and interconnected devices, a bipartisan group of Senators recently introduced a bill which would convene a working group of Federal stakeholders to provide recommendations to Congress on how to appropriately plan for and encourage the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT).
The
Dwolla Fined $100,000 by CFPB in First Data Security Enforcement Action
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) gave the fintech online payment sector a “wake up call” with an enforcement action against a Des Moines start up digital payment provider, Dwolla, Inc. (“Dwolla”).
The CFPB alleged that Dwolla misrepresented how it was protecting consumers’ data. Dwolla entered into a Consent Order to settle the CFPB charges
Use Of Personal Cloud-Based Document Accounts Requires New Strategies By Employers
Whether Google Docs, Dropbox, or some other file sharing system, employees, especially millennials and other digital natives, are increasingly likely to set up personal cloud-based document sharing and storage accounts for work purposes, usually with well-meaning intentions, such as convenience and flexibility. Sometimes this is done with explicit company approval, sometimes it is done with