A New Jersey Appellate Court recently ruled that an employee who removes or copies her employer’s documents for use in her whistleblower or discrimination case may be prosecuted criminally for stealing. In State v. Saavedra, the employee had taken highly confidential original documents owned by her employer, contending that she did so to support her employment … Continue Reading
In honor of National Data Privacy Day, we provide the following “Top 14 for 2014.” While the list is by no means exhaustive, it does provide critical areas businesses will need to consider in 2014. Location Based Tracking. As the utilization of GPS enable devices becomes more and more prevalent, employers are often faced with … Continue Reading
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren recently introduced legislation which would ban employers from conducting credit checks of prospective employees during the hiring process. Known as the Equal Employment for All Act, the measure would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit employers from using consumer credit reports to make employment decisions. Notably, the Act would permit exceptions … Continue Reading
In a recent consent order, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs settled an investigation involving Dokogeo, Inc., a California based mobile application developer. Under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) websites and online services which collect information from children younger than 13 are subject to certain parental notice and consent requirements. In the Dokogeo … Continue Reading
The Florida Senate is considering joining a multitude of states which have banned employers from requesting or requiring access to current or prospective employees’ social media accounts. Senate Bill SB198, entitled “An Act Relating to Social Media Privacy,” would prohibit employers from requiring or requesting access to employee or applicant social media accounts and from … Continue Reading
Today's Pew Research Center report that 72% of online adults use social networking sites, a significant increase since 2005, should spur more employers to address social media in the workplace.… Continue Reading
Numerous companies are considering, or already transitioned to, a "bring your own device" (BYOD) model. Under a BYOD program, employees are permitted to connect their own personal devices (iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, PDA, etc.) to the employer’s networks and systems to complete job duties either in the office or working remotely. While a BYOD program has numerous benefits, … Continue Reading
The Fourth District Court of Appeal for the State of California expanded the tort of "public disclosure of private facts" under that state’s common law right to privacy in a case involving a claim by an employee against her supervisor and employer. Ignat v. Yum! Brands, Inc. et al, No. G046434, (Cal. Ct. App. March … Continue Reading
New Utah prohibits employers from asking employees and applicants to disclose their usernames and passwords that allow access to their "personal Internet accounts," although there are many exceptions.… Continue Reading
Linking his announcement to National Privacy Day, January 28, 2013, Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler informed the public that his office has formed an Internet Privacy Unit. (See similar step taken by Connecticut AG) The stated purpose of the Unit is to protect the privacy of online users. The Unit will be charged with "monitor[ing] … Continue Reading
As we continue to examine the final HIPAA privacy and security regulations, as amended by the HITECH Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, we pulled together a summary of some of the key points. We fully expect additional sub-regulatory guidance to be provided by OCR, such as frequently asked questions and sample business associate agreement … Continue Reading
In 2012, California took significant steps to increase privacy protections for users of mobile applications (apps) which involved working with companies such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft. In July 2012, the Attorney General created the Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit, with the mission of protecting the inalienable right to privacy conferred by the … Continue Reading
The $50,000 in penalties that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently imposed on a health care provider in Idaho was due in part to allegations that the HIPAA covered entity had not conducted a risk assessment as required under the HIPAA privacy and security regulations. Of course, HIPAA is not the only law that requires a risk assessment. … Continue Reading
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law (AB 2674) new requirements specifying when and how employers must respond to their employees’ requests for inspection and copying of their personnel files. The new requirements become effective January 1, 2013. Click here for more information about the new law.… Continue Reading
And then there were three... Last week, California Governor Jerry Brown made his state the third in the union, following Maryland and Illinois, to limit access to employees and students' social media accounts… Continue Reading
California moves one step closer to becoming third state to significantly limit when employers could ask employees and job applicants for social media passwords and account information… Continue Reading
