On April 14, 2023, United Steelworkers Local 286 filed a notice of data breach with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“HHS-OCR”) after the organization learned that an unauthorized party had gained access to confidential member information through an employee’s compromised email account. Based on the organization’s official filing, the incident resulted in an unauthorized party gaining access to consumers’ full names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, financial account numbers, driver's license numbers, state identification numbers, passport numbers, financial account numbers and protected health information. After confirming that consumer data was leaked, USW Local 286 began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals who were impacted by the recent data security incident.
If you received a data breach notification from USW Local 286, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. Employers and labor organizations have a legal duty to protect the information in their possession. And, when an organization negligently stores or maintains worker data, leading to a breach, the organization may be liable to members through a data breach lawsuit. To learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft and what your legal options are in the wake of the USW Local 286 data breach, please see our recent piece on the topic here.
What We Know So Far About the USW Local 286 Breach
News of the USW Local 286 data breach is still fresh; however, what we know at this point comes from the organization’s filing with the HHS-OCR, as well as a notice posted on the organization’s website. According to these sources, USW Local 286 recently learned about a data security incident after an unauthorized party obtained the login information to an employee’s email account. In response, USW Local 286 secured the affected account and initiated an investigation with the assistance of leading cybersecurity experts.
On February 13, 2023, the USW Local 286 investigation confirmed that an unauthorized party was able to access the employee’s email account between June 16, 2022 and July 18, 2022. It was also determined that some of the emails and files contained in the account contained confidential member information.
Upon discovering that sensitive consumer data was made available to an unauthorized party, USW Local 286 began to review the affected files to determine what information was compromised and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your full name, Social Security number, date of birth, financial account number, driver's license number, state identification number, passport number, financial account numbers and protected health information.
On April 14, 2023, USW Local 286 sent out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.
More Information About United Steelworkers Local 286
Founded in 1936, United Steelworkers Local 286 is a labor union based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. USW represents steelworkers, industrial workers, and a variety of other workers, totaling 1.2 million. In addition to those in the United States, USW also serves members in Canada and the Caribbean. USW Local 286 employs more than EMP people and generates approximately $REV million in annual revenue.
