The ubiquity of smartphone applications ("apps") that record audio and/or video – coupled with the risk of workplace discussions being uploaded to social media for all to hear – has led many employers to implement...more
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...more
In a long-awaited and much-anticipated announcement, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission (the “Commission”) declared on February 2, 2016, that they had struck a deal on a new cross-border data transfer...more
The European Union’s (EU) new data protection framework, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (the “Regulation”), is, at bottom, a response to the astonishing evolution in online commerce. As a result, only one of...more
As previously reported, on August 11, 2014, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed “The Opportunity to Compete Act” – New Jersey’s so-called “ban-the-box” law – which restricts the ability of covered employers to inquire...more
On November 25, 2015, Portland’s City Council unanimously passed new rules that will significantly affect an employer’s ability to obtain and use criminal history information in the hiring process. With these new rules,...more
In the wake of last month's landmark decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) invalidating the U.S.-European Union (EU) Safe Harbor framework, hundreds of U.S. multinationals, no longer able to rely on the Safe Harbor...more
It is not a matter of "if" but "when" an employer will be required to notify employees of a security breach. Forty-seven states require employers to notify employees when defined categories of personal information, including...more
11/4/2015
/ Attorney General ,
Breach Notification Rule ,
Compliance ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hackers ,
Healthcare ,
Multistate Corporations ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Privacy Laws ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Social Security Numbers
Obscenities alone—even when viewed by an employer's customers—do not deprive employees engaged in protected concerted activity of the National Labor Relations Act's ("NLRA" or the "Act") protections. So held the U.S. Court...more
10/30/2015
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Blogging Platforms ,
Employment Policies ,
Facebook ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Online Platforms ,
Popular ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Social Networks ,
Starbucks
In a landmark decision that will dramatically affect thousands of U.S. companies that transfer personal data from the European Union ("EU") to the United States, the European Union Court of Justice ("ECJ") yesterday...more
10/7/2015
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Data Transfers ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Multinationals ,
National Security Agency (NSA) ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
PRISM Program ,
Safe Harbors ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework
The world of Big Data has arrived, and it is beginning to affect employers and their decision-making in ways undreamed of even a few years ago. Employers can access more information about their applicant pool than ever...more
8/5/2015
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Big Data ,
Class Action ,
Compliance ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
OFCCP ,
Popular ,
Privacy Policy ,
Workplace Safety
On June 16, 2015, the Oregon House passed an amended version of House Bill 3025, which will prohibit most employers from asking questions about criminal history on job applications or at any other point in the hiring process...more
Since early 2012, 21 states have enacted some form of "password protection" law. Although these laws vary substantially by state, their common thread is the intention to restrict employers' ability to access content in...more
6/18/2015
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Legislation ,
Passwords ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Young Lawyers
On May 19, 2015, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy signed into law a new statute restricting an employer’s ability to gain access to social media, e-mail and other personal online accounts of employees and job...more
March 30, 2015 Authors: Philip Gordon and Joon Hwang As many state legislatures open their 2015 sessions, Virginia has become the first this year — and most likely not the last — to continue the legislative trend towards...more
In a precedent-setting ruling, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the "Board") held last week in Purple Communications that Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) requires employers, except in very...more
The Washington, DC area has become the leading edge of the "ban-the-box" movement, with four new ban-the-box laws applicable to private employers enacted in the past six months. Baltimore, Maryland, started the trend when...more
With the intersection between cutting-edge social media and the Depression-era National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the Act) still relatively new, employers are looking for answers to some fundamental questions when it comes...more
On August 11, 2014, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed “The Opportunity to Compete Act,” which restricts the ability of covered employers to inquire into, and use, criminal records. New Jersey’s so-called...more
In the waning days of its current term, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in California v. Riley that police officers generally violate the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches by conducting a...more
Weeks after Wisconsin and Tennessee enacted their own legislation aimed at restricting access by employers to applicants’ and employees’ personal online content, Oklahoma and Louisiana have followed suit, further complicating...more
On May 22, 2014, the City of Rochester became the second city in New York to “ban the box,” by adopting legislation restricting the timing of pre-employment inquiries by most Rochester public and private employers into a...more
Legislation to restrict employers' access to applicants' and employees' personal online content continues its rapid expansion in 2014. Three weeks after Wisconsin became the 13th state to adopt its own social media password...more
5/14/2014
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Electronic Communications ,
Electronic Devices ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
New Legislation ,
Privacy Laws ,
Privacy Policy ,
Right to Privacy ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Workplace Investigations
Illinois employers had been able to rely upon Illinois' prohibition against all non-consensual recording of conversations, whether private or not. As of March 20, 2014, that prohibition no longer exists. ...more
United States employers operating in France often face a dilemma. While they may be bound by the whistleblowing requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act ("SOX") and its Dodd-Frank amendments,1 they also are bound by the data...more