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Joseph J. Lazzarotti is a principal in the Tampa, Florida, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He founded and currently co-leads the firm's Privacy, Data and Cybersecurity practice group, edits the firm’s Privacy Blog, and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) with the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Trained as an employee benefits lawyer, focused on compliance, Joe also is a member of the firm’s Employee Benefits practice group.

In short, his practice focuses on the matrix of laws governing the privacy, security, and management of data, as well as the impact and regulation of social media. He also counsels companies on compliance, fiduciary, taxation, and administrative matters with respect to employee benefit plans.

Yes! It is the law in more places and circumstances than you suspect.

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

Earlier this month, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance on an individual’s right to access the individual’s health information. That an individual has a broad right to access has been recognized in the HIPAA privacy regulations since they became effective in 2003. OCR has found, however, that individuals are facing obstacles to accessing

President Barack Obama requested $19 billion in his budget for 2017 to address cybersecurity in the United States, $5 billion more than was budgeted for the current year. Today, he issued an Executive Order that will create a commission within the Department of Commerce to be known as the “Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity.”

So,

Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a report discussing “big data.” The report compiles the agency’s learning from recent seminars and research, including a public workshop held on September 15, 2014. Known best for its role as the federal government’s consumer protection watchdog, the FTC highlights in the report a number

Earlier this year, we reported that the Internal Revenue Service clarified that it would not consider the value of credit monitoring and other identity protection services provided by employers to employees in connection with a data breach to be taxable income to the employees. IRS Announcement 2015-22. In response to comments, the IRS expanded this

Are pundits discussing the personal information allegedly accessed by a campaign staffer for Bernie Sanders? No, not really, and that is the point.

Scheduled to debate tonight at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are almost certain to joust over an alleged intrusion into Clinton’s voter

When people think about data breaches, they tend think more about the illegal hacking into computer networks by individuals, criminal enterprises or even nation states, than they do about simple employee error. This makes some sense as hacking incidents seem to be more interesting and draw more media attention. Holding this belief, however, can cause

An increasing number of companies have been installing or otherwise using some of the latest monitoring technologies in vehicles driven by employees – whether those vehicles are owned by the company or the employee – usually for safety and/or logistics management. These technologies include “event data recorders” or EDRs that capture a range of information

In the last two weeks, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced two substantial settlements under HIPAA that together totaled $4.35 million. These large amounts seem to be driven not by actual harm to individuals, but in significant part by alleged HIPAA compliance failures identified by OCR following investigations commenced in response to receipt of

One of your employees discloses your organization’s patient information to a soon-to-be new employer for use in generating business at the new employer’s competing business, and your company has to settle with the New York State Attorney General for HIPAA violations. Make sense?

This is what happened according to a published settlement agreement (pdf) that