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Privacy

Protect against data breach, cyber attack

01/26/2015

In December, Sony Pictures became the latest high-profile business victim of data theft. In addition to the threats of violence related to the re­­­­lease of its feature film, “The Inter­­view,” the company faces several federal class action lawsuits by employees claiming that their private information had been impermissibly disclosed online. In the wake of this crisis, employers should consider the following issues

NLRB narrows employer limitations on workplace communications

01/21/2015
A recent ruling may force employers to change their policies restricting private emails.

Employee on workers’ comp refuses to take a drug test: Is it legal to terminate him?

01/14/2015
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Technological change drives three new NLRB decisions

01/14/2015
The National Labor Relations Board has issued three far-reaching decisions that change long-standing practices under the National Labor Relations Act. All reflect a disquieting connection between modern communications and old-fashioned labor relations.

Court refuses to punish employer for scrubbing employee’s cellphone

01/05/2015
A federal court has dismissed a former employee’s claim under the Electronics Communication Privacy Act alleging that his employer illegally destroyed valuable information when it remotely wiped clean his iPhone after he resigned. That’s good news for IT departments that must protect company information that might be stored on former employees’ smartphones.

Workplace Drug Testing

01/01/2015

HR Law 101: Drug testing and substance abuse prevention programs can involve substantial legal liability if employers don’t manage and administer them properly. If your organization decides to implement a drug testing program, there are ways to minimize the risk of employee lawsuits …

OK to monitor email without consent?

12/23/2014
Q. We suspect someone is conducting inappropriate business using their work email. Is it illegal for us to monitor their email without their consent?

Email/Internet Usage

12/15/2014

HR Law 101: Employers have any number of legitimate reasons to monitor employees’ email and Internet usage. Beyond personal productivity issues, you risk significant loss should an employee download a virus or other damaging software or engage in illegal activity conducted on company computers …

HIPAA: Compliance Rules

11/15/2014

HR Law 101: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 made changes to three areas of the continuing-coverage rules that apply to group health plans under COBRA …

Facing legal action? Know when to put a ‘litigation hold’ on your email purging

11/06/2014
Most employers aren’t aware of the risk of deleting old emails at the wrong time.