There’s no doubt businesses in the EU and US would breathe a sigh of relief if a new Safe Harbor agreement is put in place between before European data protection authorities start prosecuting companies for potentially illegal personal data transfers to the US. But if it doesn’t happen, the US is actually not any worse… Continue Reading
Employee Privacy
Subscribe to Employee Privacy RSS FeedThe Exception that Proves the Rule? European Court of Human Rights Okays Employer’s Access to Personal Communications of Employee In (Highly) Limited Circumstances
Posted in Employee Privacy, European UnionThe European Court of Human Rights recently ruled in Bărbulescu v. Romania (Application no. 61496/08) that a Romanian employer did not violate its employee’s fundamental right of privacy when the employer accessed personal messages in the employee’s Yahoo! Messenger account. Numerous newspapers and other media sources quickly declared employee privacy dead as a result of… Continue Reading
The Problem With Data Security is not the Hardware or the Software, It’s the Wetware
Posted in Cybersecurity, Employee PrivacyRemember this? “Wetware” – coder slang for biological life forms (i.e., people) – is the weak link in most companies’ data security protections, according to a new data security report issued by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). Companies surveyed attributed data breaches to a host of human foibles, including lost laptops or devices… Continue Reading
Key EU Parliamentary Committee Votes to Adopt the General Data Protection Regulation
Posted in Data Breach, Data Breach Notification, Data Compliance & Security, EDPS, Employee Privacy, EU Data Protection Regulation, European UnionAs expected, the EU Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (also known as LIBE) voted today to adopt the new General Data Protection Regulation (see the summary we provided yesterday here). A LIBE press release announced the vote with the proclamation “New EU rules on data protection put the citizen back in the driving seat.” The vote was… Continue Reading
The General Data Protection Regulation in Bullet Points
Posted in Data Breach, Data Breach Notification, Data Compliance & Security, EDPS, Employee Privacy, EU Data Protection Regulation, European Union, Privacy Regulation, Safe Harbor, Security, Social MediaUpdated at 8:50 pm GMT on 16 December 2015. The new General Data Protection Regulation is effectively a “done deal” following the final trilogue meeting on December 15. One might assume based on UK media coverage that the biggest change in EU privacy law is that kids under 16 will need their parent’s consent to… Continue Reading
Privacy Monday: November 9, 2015 – EU/Safe Harbor Updates
Posted in Employee Privacy, European Court of Justice, European Union, Privacy Monday, Safe HarborAnd the days dwindle down, to a precious few … November … We are still following developments in the EU relating to the invalidation of the US-EU Safe Harbor Framework. In case you were on a secluded island during the month of October, you can catch up here. European Commission Issues Communication. On Friday, the… Continue Reading
Safe Harbor Invalidated – What’s Next on the Chopping Block?
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Employee Privacy, EU Data Protection Regulation, European Court of Justice, European Union, Privacy Regulation, Safe Harbor, Social MediaAs I reported earlier today, the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has declared Safe Harbor invalid. The full decision is now available online in English here (other languages also available at curia.europa.eu by searching on C-362/14). There are two key elements of the ECJ’s decision. The first is that national data protection… Continue Reading
Sony: Stipulation Announces (but does not disclose) Employee Data Breach Class Settlement
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Data Breach, Employee Privacy, Identity Theft, Privacy LitigationThis Is The End? Settlement appears imminent in an employee class action against Sony Pictures Entertainment (“SPE”) arising from disclosure of their personally identifiable information (“PII”) in a massive data breach allegedly perpetrated by North Korean hackers in retaliation for SPE’s release of “The Interview,” a satirical comedy depicting an attempt on the life of… Continue Reading
Massachusetts Appeals Court Set to Consider Scope of Employer Liability for Employee Data Breaches
Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Breach, Employee Privacy, UncategorizedBy Breton Leone-Quick Many of the highest-profile and headline-catching data breaches involve external breaches of a company’s electronic systems. But the reality that these headlines obscure is the fact that internal data breaches are generally more prevalent and represent a primary source of concern for data security managers. The legal liability of employers for data… Continue Reading
Data Breach Affects Millions of Current and Former Government Workers
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Data Breach, Data Compliance & Security, Employee Privacy, Identity Theft, Privacy Litigation, SecurityThe U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced that hackers have stolen the personal information of approximately 4 million current and former federal employees, including names, birthdates and social security numbers. OPM serves as the human resources department -and holds employee records – for the entire federal government, ranging from security clearances to the identities… Continue Reading
Privacy Monday – May 11, 2015
Posted in Children, Employee Privacy, Events and Webinars, Federal Trade Commission, Privacy Monday, UncategorizedOn this Privacy Monday, we have some upcoming events that you might want to add to your calendar. Wednesday, May 13 – Mintz Employment Law Summit (Boston) A discussion of hot topics facing employers, including Privacy in the Workplace. Free event, breakfast and lunch included. Register here. Wednesday, May 13 – National Security, Privacy, and… Continue Reading
ICYMI: Privacy in the Workplace Webinar
Posted in Employee Privacy, Events and Webinars, Privacy Regulation, Social Media, UncategorizedOur 2015 monthly Privacy Issues Wednesday webinar series continued this month with Jennifer Rubin and Gauri Punjabi’s Privacy in the Workplace presentation. Jen and Gauri discussed the latest statutory and common law developments concerning employer monitoring of employee email, access to employee social media accounts, social media policies, and bring your own device (“BYOD”) policies. We… Continue Reading
Two Upcoming Privacy/Cybersecurity Events – Register Now!
Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Breach, Employee Privacy, Events and Webinars, SecurityThe Mintz Levin Privacy & Data Security Team invites you to register and join us at two upcoming events: Our next Wednesday Webinar is coming up on February 25th, with a focus on privacy in the workplace. Our workplace is everywhere these days, which makes employment and privacy compliance even more challenging. Jen Rubin and Gauri Punjabi will discuss developments… Continue Reading
Register for our next Wednesday Webinar — February 25
Posted in Employee Privacy, Events and Webinars, HIPAA/HITECH, Identity Theft, Mobile Privacy, Privacy Litigation, Security, Social MediaRegistration is open for the next installment in the Mintz Levin Privacy & Security Group Wednesday Webinar series — This webinar, scheduled for Wednesday, February 25, will focus on privacy in the workplace. Our workplace is everywhere these days, which makes employment and privacy compliance even more challenging. Jen Rubin and Gauri Punjabi will discuss… Continue Reading
Privacy Monday – January 12, 2015
Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Breach Notification, Data Compliance & Security, Employee Privacy, Federal Trade Commission, Legislation, Privacy Monday, Privacy Regulation, SecurityThree privacy/security stories that you should know as you start your week: President Obama to Offer Cybersecurity/Privacy Previews to State of the Union Proposals In a series of speeches this week, President Obama will preview important issues to appear in his January 20th State of the Union address. A White House official said… Continue Reading
NLRB Continues Aggressive Crackdown on Social Media Policies
Posted in Employee Privacy, Social MediaIn the past few years the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has taken an increased interest in whether workplace policies prohibiting employees from discussing the terms and conditions of their employment on social media such as Facebook and Twitter violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) by interfering with workers’ rights to engage in concerted… Continue Reading
Wearable Devices in the Workplace Challenge Data Security and Privacy
Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Compliance & Security, Employee PrivacyWearable devices, including health and activity monitors, video and audio recorders, location trackers, and other interconnected devices in the form of watches, wristbands, glasses, rings, bracelets, belts, gloves, earrings and shoes are being heavily promoted in the next wave of consumer electronics. It is estimated that 90 million wearable data devices (“WDD”) will be… Continue Reading
Privacy Monday – March 31, 2014 OPENING DAY!
Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Breach, Data Breach Notification, Employee Privacy, UncategorizedLast Monday in March (Opening Day for you baseball fans) – some privacy/security bits and bytes to close out the month. Microsoft: “We won’t access private e-mail accounts … Promise.” Microsoft has committed to no longer accessing the private e-mail accounts of its users after criticism that the company looked at the e-mail of a former employee… Continue Reading
Law360: Microsoft Steps in Privacy Quagmire with Email Snooping
Posted in Employee PrivacyMintz Levin employment lawyer Don Schroeder was recently quoted in this Law360 Article entitled Microsoft Steps in Privacy Quagmire With Email Snooping. The article focuses on the controversial choice by Microsoft Corp. to search a blogger’s e-mail account for evidence of leaked trade secrets by its former employee. The article also explores whether or not… Continue Reading
Data: Big, Borderless and Beyond Control? Five Things You Can Do
Posted in Cybersecurity, Data Breach, Data Compliance & Security, Employee Privacy, SecurityWritten by Amy Malone There’s been a lot of talk about big data over the last few years and the breaches at Target and Neiman Marcus have many companies running in circles trying to figure out how to protect their systems and their data. So what are some of the big issues in our current… Continue Reading
On the 10th Day of Privacy, my employer gave to me …..
Posted in Employee Privacy, Privacy Litigation, Social MediaAnd, no — it was not a big fat bonus. On this 10th Day of Privacy, we look ahead at employment related privacy issues …. Written by Michael Arnold As use of social media and other technologies continue to raise serious employment-related privacy issues in the workplace, expect to see a flurry of activity… Continue Reading
On the 9th Day of Privacy, the European Union Gave to Me . . .
Posted in Data Breach Notification, Data Compliance & Security, Employee Privacy, European Union, Legislation, Privacy Regulation. . . a delayed delivery notice for the biggest package of the holiday season! Written by Susan Foster, Solicitor, England & Wales/Admitted in California, CIPP-E (LONDON) Major changes are on the way in Europe that will have a significant impact on companies anywhere in the world that collect or process personal data of residents… Continue Reading
International Data Privacy Day is Monday
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Employee Privacy, SecurityTime for some tips to keep your company (and your employees) safe online — Are your employees trained to maintain company privacy standards? Conduct employee training on privacy as it relates to employment, helping employees learn how to protect the privacy of clients’ and customers’ personal information and teaching employees how to manage their own… Continue Reading
Second of a series: Privacy and Security Issues for 2013
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Employee Privacy, Privacy RegulationOur series over the next 10 days will highlight the top issues, as we see them, in privacy and security for 2013. Yesterday, we looked at the increase in cybersecurity disclosure by public companies, triggered by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Cybersecurity Guidance. Privacy 2013 – What to Expect in the Employment Arena Written… Continue Reading
