ABC News has reported that a Fairfield, Connecticut woman, Pamela Fink, yesterday filed claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities that her employer violated GINA when it terminated her employment on March 25, 2010. The federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) (pdf), which went into
Jail Time Under HIPAA for Snooping UCLA Doctor
Health care providers beware – curiosity about patients can put you in jail.
According to NBC News, Huping Zhou, a licensed cardiothoracic surgeon in China, who worked at the UCLA School of Medicine as a researcher, will serve four months in prison for snooping into medical records back in 2003. This follows Mr. Zhou’s guilty pleas
PEOs Face Significant Data Privacy and Security Challenges
We are honored that the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO), the largest national trade association for professional employer organizations (PEOs), recently published our article in its May 2010 edition of its PEO Insider publication, an important resource for any PEO.
PEOs no doubt provide valuable services for businesses across the country. However, in doing so, they generally have
Florida AG Settles Data Breach under “Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices” Authority
On April 16, 2010, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced a settlement (pdf) with Certegy Check Services, Inc. over how the company secures consumer records. The Attorney General’s enforcement action stems from a massive data breach by a former Certegy employee who stole personal identification information from approximately 5.9 million consumer files.
According to the
Mississippi Becomes 46th State to Enact a Data Breach Notification Law
With Mississippi enacting its own data breach notification law on April 7, Alabama, Kentucky, New Mexico, and South Dakota remain the only states without such a law. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour signed H.B. 583 making his state the 46th to enact a breach notification law. The law becomes effective July 1, 2011.
Like many breach
EEOC Counsel Provides Guidance for Managing Employee Medical Information
EEOC “Rehabilitation Act” “medical information” MRC “medical records custodians”
Continue Reading EEOC Counsel Provides Guidance for Managing Employee Medical Information
Federal Contractors To Deal With Federal File Sharing Concerns
Under a measure passed overwhelmingly by the U.S. House of Representatives (408-13), federal contractors would be required to adopt measures established by the Office of Management and Budget to limit open network peer-to-peer file sharing software (P2P Software). Likely a response to the leakage of House and Senate ethics investigations, if the “Secure Federal
Employee Data Security Complaint Supports Whistleblower Retaliation Claim
Employees’ increasing sensitivity to data privacy and security, and widely accepted public policy to protect personal data maintained by businesses, require employers to respond meaningfully to employee data privacy and security complaints or risk whistle blower claims of retaliation.
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey recently held that an employee who voiced concerns regarding his employer’s handling of data security before he was fired may proceed to trial under the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (“CEPA”) on the ground that he was engaged in protected whistle blowing activity under CEPA. This is one of the first decisions linking a NJ CEPA or similar claim and data security concerns, and is in line with increased efforts by both the federal and state governments to protect employee data.Continue Reading Employee Data Security Complaint Supports Whistleblower Retaliation Claim
WISPs Beyond Massachusetts
Over the past few months, many businesses, particularly in the Northeast Region, have been focusing on creating a written information security program (WISP) to comply with Massachusetts identity theft regulations that went into effect March 1, 2010. For many, this has been a significant effort, reaching most, if not all, parts of their organizations. However
New Mobile Phones Capable of Monitoring Employee’s Every Move?
New mobile phone technology may allow employers to track very precise movements and activities of employees, such as walking, climbing stairs or even cleaning. As reported by Michael Fitzpatrick of BBC News, the technology developed by KDDI Corporation, a Japanese company, “works by analyzing the movement of accelerometers, found in many handsets.” This