Privacy

N.J. Supreme Court decides: Can employees take confidential docs?

04/25/2011

Can an employee who wants to prove discrimination take, copy and disclose company documents? How does that square with the company’s right to protect what it deems to be confidential information? The New Jersey Supreme Court recently offered some guidance on this issue in Quinlan v. Curtiss-Wright.

There’s an app for that: ID theft worries at Disneyland

04/20/2011

Disneyland Resort workers have filed a lawsuit claiming the Walt Disney Co. is violating state law by encoding workers’ identification cards with their Social Security numbers. The workers say they’re worried that the encoded information on their ID cards could be accessed using barcode scanners such as the kind commonly available as smartphone apps.

Hiring employees from competitor

03/14/2011

Q. We are hiring a high-level employee who will come to us from our major competitor. She has no noncompete agreement with her current employer. Is that our only risk?

How to make the leap to electronic HR records

03/01/2011

Many employers are making the leap to “paperless” HR. Digital records are easy to access and cheap to archive. But despite the many benefits of electronic records storage, a host of legal problems could derail even the best-intentioned digital records plan. Here are the issues to consider before you make the transition.

Tell staff you’re monitoring work e-mail so they can’t argue it was confidential

02/23/2011

Employers can read any e-mails sent using company-owned computers or other devices, as long as they inform employees they should have no expectation the communication is confidential. That’s true even of e-mails an employee sends to an attorney to discuss a potential lawsuit against the employer.

Tale of the tape: Beware acting on recorded conversations

02/11/2011

Employers are sometimes tempted to monitor and record employees’ communications and activities. That can backfire. Fact is, there are limits on how employers can monitor employees. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed whether an employer may be liable for recording an employee’s private conversation in the workplace.

Should we forbid supervisors from becoming their subordinates’ friend on Facebook?

02/09/2011

Q. A supervisor recently asked if he was allowed to accept a subordinate’s “friend” request on Facebook. How should we advise our supervisors?

How to legally make the digital leap to electronic HR records

02/09/2011

Given the low cost and the easy accessibility of electronic records storage, many employers are making the digital leap to “paperless” HR. But despite the many benefits of going paperless, a host of legal problems could derail even the best-intentioned digital records plan. Carefully consider these legal issues when transitioning to an electronic personnel records system.

EEOC issues new mandatory poster highlighting GINA

01/04/2011

It’s time to update your break-room bulletin board. The EEOC has issued a new “EEO is the Law” poster that most employers must display, now including information on employee rights under the recently enacted Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. Download it here.

N.J. Supreme Court backs former HR exec who copied documents

12/21/2010

The New Jersey Supreme Court has handed disgruntled employees a big weapon to use against their employers. The court ruled that Joyce Quinlan was within her rights to photocopy company documents—some of which were confidential—to use in a lawsuit against Curtiss-Wright, the aerospace company where she once served as executive director of human resources.