On 26 July 2019, the Greek Supervisory Authority (SA) found Pricewaterhouse Coopers (“PwC”) not compliant with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in relation to the processing of its Greek employees’ personal data. The SA issued a €150,000 fine and an injunction requiring PwC to take measures to comply within three months (which is has apparently done). A summary of the decision in English is available on the Greek SA’s website.… More
Tag Archives: employee
IRS Warns of “Surge” in Tax Season Phishing Scams
Tax season ‘tis the season to be phishing, according to the IRS. The IRS has issued a warning to payroll and human resources professionals about a “surge” in phishing emails seen this year. One of the preferred tactics of identity thieves this year appears to be impersonating CEOs and sending emails to company payroll and human resources departments asking for employee W-2s. … More
New Hampshire Struggles with First Circuit Precedent on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Too
Originally posted on July 30th, 2013 by Brian P. Bialas
An interesting article by Jeffrey Spear that appeared in the New Hampshire Bar News in July shows that the federal district court in New Hampshire is struggling with the same question as the district court in Massachusetts: What is the proper interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”)? … More
U.S. District Court Narrowly Construes Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
In the following article from Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (reprinted with permission), Brian Bialas comments on the latest Computer Fraud and Abuse Act case, and the resultant split in the District of Massachusett on how to interpret the CFAA:
Ex-employees sued over computer use
Judge narrowly construes CFAA
By Eric T. Berkman
A technology company could not sue former employees for downloading proprietary information onto personal storage devices before they joined a competitor without showing that the employees had physically accessed the information through fraudulent or unlawful means,… More
NLRB Confirms that Comments Posted on Social Media May Be Entitled to Protection
In a post from earlier today, my colleagues, Lyndsey Kruzer and Mike Rosen, discuss the NLRB’s conclusion that social media comments can be protected activity:
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently issued a significant decision – solidifying the position it has staked out over the past 18 months – that an employee’s posts on social media may be entitled to protection under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA),… More
Another Big HIPAA Settlement: The UCLA Health System Settles for $865,000
In another sign that OCR is continuing to seek significant penalties for HIPAA violations, it announced on July 7 that the UCLA Health System ("UCLAHS") has agreed to settle potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules for $865,500 and has committed to a corrective action plan aimed at remedying gaps in its compliance with those rules. This follows on the heels of Massachusetts General Hospital’s $1 million settlement with OCR.… More
Some Tips for Protecting Your Data when Dealing with Vendors
I recently attended the 10th Annual Legal and Compliance Forum on Privacy & Security of Consumer and Employee Information in Washington, DC. It featured a particularly lively panel on “Oversight of Third-Parties and Vendors: Managing and Controlling Relationships Through Effective Due Diligence and Contract Negotiation.” Below are some key points the panelists discussed; some may seem obvious, but they are nevertheless important measures to consider as part of your vendor relationships:
- Be able to terminate the relationship without cause. …
Restricting Employees’ Internet Conduct May Violate Federal Labor Law
The following post was drafted by my colleagues Rob Fisher and Brian Bialas; although their focus is on the employment law aspects of this issue, the implications for corporate security/privacy policies are significant. In particular, they note that such policies must not prohibit employees from criticizing their employer. Time to check your existing policies on this point.
* * *
The rise of social media websites has created a host of challenges for employers.… More
Departing Employees Are Increasingly Stealing Company Information
As discussed by Mike Rosen on Foley Hoag’s Noncompete Blog here, and reported by the Washington Post and CNN, a recently released report by Symantec Corp. and the Ponemon Institute (which can be found here) revealed that 59% of ex-employees who leave their employment are stealing company information, and 67% of those who admitted to stealing company information also admitted that they used that information to leverage a new job.… More