HR - Privacy & Surveillance

The European Commission and the United States have announced a new data transfer mechanism, following the invalidation of Privacy Shield in July 2020. Background As data privacy experts may remember, in July 2020 the Privacy Shield data transfer mechanism (which applied to transfers of European data

When privacy geeks talk “privacy,” it is not uncommon for them to use certain terms interchangeably –personal data, personal information, personally identifiable information, private information, individually identifiable information, protected health information, or individually identifiable health

Data is everywhere. We’re being tracked in the car, in the grocery store, even when we’re walking the dog. As I write this, I’m being monitored as well, through employee monitoring administered by my firm’s I.T. department.

The New York Times newly established Privacy Project, recently highlighted the extent to which our society has created a “facial recognition machine” – cameras are everywhere, even in doorbells. Segments of society have accepted widespread surveillance on public streets, shopping malls, and in commo

On February 25, 2019, the Third Circuit held that a New Jersey engineering firm that monitored its former employees’ social media accounts was not barred from winning an injunction to prevent four former employees from soliciting firm clients and destroying company information.

In 2018, Delta paved the way in airport terminal development, by introducing the first biometric terminal at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport where passengers can use facial recognition technology from curb to gate. Delta now offers members of its Sky Club airport lounges to ente

2018 has so far been a year that will long live in the memory of workplace privacy lawyers. Over the past eight months, lawyers for multinational corporations have had to familiarize themselves with a range of new laws, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); the GD

Executive Summary: Increasingly, stories are appearing in the news about employees who have secretly recorded their colleagues and supervisors at work. It may come as a surprise that such recordings may be completely legal. The ease with which secret recordings can be made presents multiple consider

On June 22, 2018, in Carpenter v. United States, the United States Supreme Court decided that the federal government would need a warrant in order to obtain historical location data from cellular service providers, based on cell tower “pings.”

On April 17th, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the highly anticipated U.S. v. Microsoft, ruling that recently enacted legislation rendered the case moot. Microsoft Corp. had been in litigation with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for several years over the issue of whether Microsoft must compl

Many workplaces use video monitoring for security or inventory control. Most employees have cell phones with audio or video recording capabilities. Employers and employees often have questions about if or when video or audio recordings can occur. The following are some commonly encountered questions

It is not uncommon for employers to assign badges to their employees to grant access to certain locations on the employer’s property and parking garages. Many employees have them, use them, lose them and think little of them.

Yes! It is the law in more places and circumstances than you suspect.

In the face of seemingly daily news reports of company data breaches and the mounting legislative concern and efforts on both the state and federal level to enact laws safeguarding personal information maintained by companies, employers should be questioning whether they should implement privacy pol

In response to the February 2, 2016, announcement by the European Commission (the "Commission") and the U.S. Commerce Department of a new framework, called the "Privacy Shield," to replace the invalidated U.S.-European Union ("EU") Safe Harbor Framework for cross-border data transfers,1 the EU's top

You’ve spent extensive time and effort, not to mention money, establishing your company’s reputation only to have the company defamed or disparaged anonymously online. This is a scenario which many organizations face in today’s virtual marketplace. As a recent decision by the Delaware Superior Court

Can we prohibit employees from making audio recordings at work? As advancements in technology continue to increase, and it becomes easier and easier for employees to surreptitiously record conversations, this inquiry is posed by many employers. In fact, we discussed this very question back in 2013.

When people think about data breaches, they tend think more about the illegal hacking into computer networks by individuals, criminal enterprises or even nation states, than they do about simple employee error. This makes some sense as hacking incidents seem to be more interesting and draw more medi

Demonstrating its continued commitment to data security enforcement, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently announced Cox Communications Inc., the nation’s third largest cable operator, agreed to pay $595,000 to resolve an investigation into whether the company failed to properly prote

Bloomberg BNA (subscription) recently reported that this fall the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) will be issuing a report on Fitbit Inc.’s privacy practices. Avid runners, walkers or those up on the latest gadgets likely know about Fitbit, and its line of wearable fitness devices.