With first responders on the front lines of helping to fight the coronavirus, sharing information about potential exposure to COVID-19 is critical to protecting them and preventing further spread. In these situations, the information shared is most often “protected health information” (PHI) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. … Continue Reading
The Washington State Supreme Court ruled recently that state employees’ birthdates associated with their names are not exempt from disclosure pursuant to a freedom of information records request. In so holding, the Court strictly construed the applicable statute that did not expressly exempt birthdates from disclosure. Wash. Pub. Emps. Assn. v. State Ctr for Childhood … Continue Reading
In a landmark ruling, the Vermont Supreme Court recently held that a patient had standing to sue both the hospital at which she was a patient and the employee who attended to her, for negligent disclosure of her personal health information to a third-party. Neither the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) nor Vermont … Continue Reading
Most employers are well aware that potential liability lurks if unauthorized information is disclosed to third parties. Obvious examples would include unauthorized employee or applicant health or financial information or personal information such as social security numbers and the like. In an interesting twist, the Minnesota Supreme Court considered whether liability could be created when … Continue Reading
As we have previously anticipated, yesterday New Jersey joined the multitude of other states which have enacted laws limiting employer access to employee social media accounts. The law prohibits employers from requesting or requiring a current or prospective employee to provide or disclose any user name or password, or in any way provide the employer access to, … Continue Reading
The Fourth Circuit recently held that the Consumer Fraud and Abuse Act’s (“CFAA”) prohibitions against unauthorized access or access in excess of authorization were not violated by an employee when the employee used his valid access to employer’s computer network to download confidential business information that he later used while working for a competitor. Prior … Continue Reading
A Missouri federal district court has ruled, in I.S. v. Washington University, that a HIPAA-covered entity’s disclosure of protected information can form the basis for a state-law negligence claim. The Court reached this holding despite the well-accepted principle there is no private cause of action under HIPAA. The plaintiff, I.S., was undergoing medical treatment for … Continue Reading
Paintball Punks filed a class action suit against U.S. Bank in Hennepin County, Minnesota. The case was subsequently removed on December 6, 2010, to the Minneapolis District Court. In the complaint, Paintball Punks alleges that between August and December 2009 it received 9 orders totaling approximately $11,000, which were fraudulently billed to U.S. Bank-issued cards. The amount was subsequently … Continue Reading
CDPH's data privacy enforcement activity continues, this time affecting 6 hospitals and a nursing home with total penalties approaching $800,000.… Continue Reading
Nearly 100 organizations have been notified by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) that personal information, including sensitive employee and customer data, shared from the organizations’ computer networks is available on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks. This, the FTC warned, could be used to commit identity theft or fraud. The notices went to both private and public entities, including … Continue Reading
Continuing our thoughts on how disclosures of private or confidential information may adversely impact the institution and the persons affected by such disclosure, we now focus on something near and dear to lawyers’ hearts: paper shredding. Many businesses regularly shred documents they no longer need to protect them from disclosure. While this may secure the information contained … Continue Reading
