The New Year usually means new laws for California employers. This year, a new privacy law goes into effect with new mandates for employers to ensure that workers have more control over the collection and use of their personal information.
Continue Reading New Year Brings New Privacy Laws to California Employers
Assembly Bill 1651 or the Workplace Technology Accountability Act, a new bill proposed by California Assembly Member Ash Kalra, would regulate employers, and their vendors, regarding the use of employee data. Under the bill, data is defined as “any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular worker, regardless of how the information is collected, inferred, or obtained.”
Continue Reading California Assembly Proposes Data Privacy Law for Workers
Use of employee biometric data – including fingerprints, eye scans, voiceprints, and facial scans – continues to be a popular, yet legally risky, proposition for employers. Several states and municipalities have laws that specifically govern the use of biometric data, the highest profile of which is the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
Continue Reading Amidst Uncertainty Surrounding the Scope of BIPA Liability, Hyatt Settles Employee Biometric Data Class Claims for $1.5 Million
In recent years, there has been a growing trend amongst litigants of protecting documents filed as part of the judicial record from public view by sealing them by agreement under a protective order. However, a recent opinion out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit criticizes this now-common practice.
Continue Reading The Fifth Circuit Criticizes the Practice of Sealing Documents by Agreement
Last August, we reported on OSHA’s proposed rulemaking regarding electronic submissions of workplace injuries and illnesses in our blog entitled, “OSHA Issues Proposed Rule Regarding Electronic Submission Requirements.” OSHA has since issued a final rule which became effective on February 25, 2019. The new rule rescinds the requirement that employers with 250 or more employees, or employers in certain high-hazard industries, electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries or Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report).
Continue Reading OSHA Eliminates Electronic Submission Requirement for Certain Workplace Injuries and Illness Forms, Citing Concerns for Employee Privacy
In a new class action filed recently against a hospital housekeeping company, employees allege their employer’s fingerprint scanning time-tracking system runs afoul of privacy laws. The Pennsylvania-based company Xanitos Inc. now faces the lawsuit in federal court in Illinois, claiming the company violated the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act.
Continue Reading Press Pause Before Using Biometric Tech in the Workplace
A magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon recently made findings and recommendations to dismiss a purported class action against Kroger subsidiary Fred Meyer. The suit alleges that the retailer’s background check process for prospective employees violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act by both failing to properly disclose that a report will be run, and failing to comply with the statute’s procedural requirements before taking adverse action against an applicant.
Continue Reading The Spokeo Chronicles: Another Tentative Background Check Win for Kroger Subsidiary
In a time when workplace violence seems to be on the rise, many companies have adopted a strict no tolerance policy even for conduct outside the workplace. In California, however, employers need to be cognizant of the protections afforded individuals that may make such terminations riskier than the company may expect. One employer got just such a reminder last week when a California jury returned an $18M verdict against it for terminating an employee after he was arrested for threatening his girlfriend outside of the workplace.
Continue Reading Terminating an Employee Arrested for Off-Duty Conduct Could Run Afoul of California Law
In EEOC v. McLane Co., Inc., the Ninth Circuit recently held that the EEOC has broad subpoena powers to obtain nationwide private personnel information, including social security numbers (“SSNs”), in connection with its investigation of a sex discrimination charge.
Continue Reading EEOC Allowed Broad Access to Private Information, Including Social Security Numbers
State legislation concerning employee privacy in social media continues to grow with six states passing such legislation in 2014, including Tennessee, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
Continue Reading Oregon Increases Safeguards on Employee’s Social Media Rights