This 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
Employee Privacy
Subscribe to Employee Privacy RSS FeedMassachusetts 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
New York Law Journal: Smart Devices in the Workplace
Posted in Employee Privacy, Privacy RegulationOne of the year’s hottest topics in privacy and security - BYOD. Here is an article written by Mintz Levin’s Cynthia Larose and Narges Kakalia and published in the New York Law Journal. One good resolution for 2013 might be to review (or establish) your company’s policy dealing with employee-owned devices in the workplace. … Continue Reading
NLRB Invalidates Another Workplace Social Media Policy
Posted in Employee PrivacyOur colleagues over at Mintz’s Employment Matters Blog have written about yet another finding from the National Labor Relations Board relating to a workplace social media policy. Have you looked at your company’s policy lately in light of these rulings? By Martha J. Zackin The NLRB has again weighed in on workplace social media policies. And,… Continue Reading
Online and Off-Limits: New California Legislation Prohibits Employers from Requiring Access to Social Media Accounts of Employees
Posted in Employee Privacy, Privacy Regulation, SecurityWritten by Jake Romero Facebook announced last week that it now has upwards of 1 billion active users. That same week, over 10 million Twitter messages were sent during the U.S. presidential debate . With the number and use of social media websites rapidly expanding, your privacy rights with respect to your tweets, “likes” and… Continue Reading
Two Upcoming Privacy Events
Posted in 201 CMR 17.00, Data Breach, Data Compliance & Security, Employee Privacy, Privacy RegulationWe have two “Save the Date” announcements today - for registration information click on the links below: October 18, 2012 — San Diego — The Era of Big Data — Governance, Risk and Compliance October 25, 2012 — Webinar — Data Privacy and Security Issues for the Nonprofit Join the Mintz Levin Privacy team at… Continue Reading
NLRB Continues to Speak Out on Social Media
Posted in Employee Privacy, Privacy RegulationRecently, the National Labor Relations Board Acting General Counsel Lafe E. Solomon issued his third and latest report on social media cases, providing specific guidance on how to construct a lawful social media policy. In the report, Solomon takes a narrow view of what types of policy provisions are acceptable and instructs, for example, that… Continue Reading
Does an employer invade an employee’s privacy by accessing and reviewing the employee’s email?
Posted in Employee Privacy, Privacy LitigationA recent Massachusetts Superior Court decision, Falmouth Firefighters Union v. Town of Falmouth, answers “no.” Our colleagues over at the Mintz Levin Employment Matters blog have posted an analysis of this interesting decision and the takeaways for employers — particularly Massachusetts employers. Read more here.
Overheard in the interview room: What is your Facebook password?
Posted in Employee Privacy, Privacy RegulationIf you’ve missed this development of late, the word on the street is that prospective employers are not just using Google to search for whatever may be available on the Internet — they are asking applicants to provide their Facebook passwords to allow the prospective employer to peruse their Facebook page. Our colleagues over at… Continue Reading
