America is using social media (e.g. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.) to publish everything from the profound to the mundane. For employers, this leads to the tremendous potential for employees to enhance or harm the company’s reputation through their online activities.
Last month we introduced you to Connecticut’s new “Act Concerning the Confidentiality of Social Security Numbers” which became effective October 1, 2008. In addition to requiring various safeguards when handling certain personal information, the Act requires “any person who collects Social Security numbers in the course of business” to create a written privacy protection policy [...]
One of the more significant decisions of 2006 was handed down by the California Supreme Court regarding the recordation of phone calls. In Kearney v. Solomon Smith Barney, the court held that all phone calls with California residents must comport with California’s Privacy Act, which prohibits any person from monitoring or recording a telephone [...]
California’s newly enacted Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) requires the results of any background check be furnished to the investigated person, including applicants for employment. Any collected data regarding reputation, personal characteristics or mode of living must be reported within one week or at the interview, whichever is sooner. The California legislature aimed [...]
The Internet is a powerful weapon in the hands of a disgruntled employee. Internet bulletin boards invite employees to attack their own employer. The right to free speech under the First Amendment often is the shield that protects employees who speak out on the Internet. One of the few means to defeat the First Amendment [...]