Smartphone privacy and security concerns continue to weigh on businesses, particularly for companies in certain industries such as healthcare, and for those that have or are thinking of moving to a “bring your own device” (BYOD) model. Promoters of the “Blackphone,” according to a Reuters report, hope that their version of Google’s Android
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Urges the Passage of a National Data Breach Notification Law
After years of identity theft holding the top spot for crimes reported to the Federal Trade Commission, and following recent reports of massive data breaches, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder urged Congress today to enact a national law setting a uniform standard for notifying individuals regarding breaches involving their personal information, according to a report
What Employers Need to Know About Bitcoin
Ask the average person what they know about Bitcoin and they might be able to tell you that it is a digital currency. Most have probably heard the name mentioned in articles about its giant fluctuations in value or in connection with black market internet transactions. Beyond that, how Bitcoin actually operates remains relatively unknown
New HIPAA Guidance Concerning Mental Health Records
Healthcare providers and their business associates frequently face difficult questions relating to when they are able to share protected health information with the family members and friends of the patients they serve. These questions often require consideration of a number of different laws and rules, such as HIPAA, Federal alcohol and drug abuse confidentiality regulations,
Puerto Rico Gets Serious About HIPAA – $6.8 million in penalties connected to data breach
Ricardo Rivera Cardona of the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration, intending to send a message by imposing the largest penalty to date ($6.8 million) arising out of a breach of protected health information under HIPAA, as reported by Infomation Security Media Group, is quoted as saying:
We are sending a message that we are
Increased Use of Medical Devices by Healthcare Providers Results in More Cyberattacks and Data Breaches
A study (registration required) by two data security firms, Norse in Silicon Valley and SANS, discussed in a recent L.A. Times article, confirms the concerns raised by the FDA and others about increased use of internet-connected medical devices by healthcare providers and the corresponding increase in the information systems of those providers being attacked,
Court Denies Access To Employee Social Media Accounts
If the intersection of social networking and workplace privacy laws piques your attention, you may find an article written by my colleague Michael Frankel particularly interesting. He writes about a recent case, Pecile v. Titan Capital Group, LLC out of New York, where the court refused to grant the defendants’ request for access to the
Employee’s Unauthorized Texting of Confidential Health Information May Impose Employer Liability
Written by Jeffrey M. Schlossberg
When does a medical clinic’s employee’s unauthorized texting of patient confidential health information result in liability to the clinic? The answer; it depends.
In Doe v. Guthrie Clinic, Ltd., the Second Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a patient’s claim against a medical corporation for alleged breach of fiduciary duty
No First Amendment Protection for Police Officer’s Facebook Rant, a Reminder of the Risks of Employee Activity in Social Media
If you are a public sector employer, you may be particularly interested in an article written by my fellow shareholder and practice group member, Marlo Johnson Roebuck. She writes about a recent case, Graziosi v. City of Greenville, involving a police department’s decision to terminate a police officer for statements she made on
Nursing Facility Settles Alleged GINA Violations with EEOC for $370K
As one nursing facility in New York has learned, asking employees or applicants about their family medical history can violate the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”) and draw the ire of the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Founders Pavilion, Inc., a former Corning, N.Y. nursing and rehabilitation center, will pay $370,000 to settle discrimination