Total Articles: 6
Company Violated Federal Law by Accessing Employee’s Invitation-Only MySpace Chat Group Without Authorization.
In an unpublished opinion, a federal district court in New Jersey has upheld a jury verdict in which a company was found liable for violating the federal Stored Communications Act (SCA). The violation occurred when the company’s managers intentionally accessed a “chat group” on an employee’s MySpace account without having received authorization from the MySpace member to join the group. Further, the court upheld the jury’s finding of malicious conduct, which supported an award of punitive damages.
Bill to Provide Victims of Identity Theft with Additional Remedies.
A bill (S2175) concerning victims of identity theft was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 26, 2009. The bill would provide victims of identity theft with additional remedies of reasonable attorneys’ fees, expenses and other litigation costs associated with the following: (1) clearing an identity theft victim’s credit history or credit rating; and (2) satisfying any debt, lien, or other obligation the victim incurred as a result of the defendant's actions.
Proposed Regulations Issued to Implement the New Jersey Identity Theft Prevention Act.
In response to the growing problems of identity theft, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has published proposed regulations implementing provisions of the New Jersey Identify Theft Prevention Act (ITPA), N.J.S.A. 56:11-44.
Employee Desk Search Not an Invasion of Privacy.
An employee was terminated for violation of the company firearms policy after a pellet gun and ammunition were found in his locked desk.
Employers Have Duty To Investigate Worker's Online Pornography Viewing (pdf).
In a decision that imposes broad obligations on employers, the New Jersey Appellate
Division ruled last week that a company could be held liable for damages suffered by a
victim of child pornography where it failed to investigate reports that an employee was
viewing child pornography online while at work. The court held that an "employer who is on
notice that one of its employees is using a workplace computer to access pornography,
possibly child pornography, has a duty to investigate the employee's activities and to take
prompt and effective action to stop the unauthorized activity." Finding that employees do
not have privacy interests that would prohibit inspection of their workplace computers, the
court held that an employer that fails to investigate information that an employee is viewing
child pornography on the Internet while at work may be liable to a person subsequently
victimized by the employee.
New Jersey Identity Theft Prevention Act Takes Effect January 1 (pdf).
New Jersey’s Identity Theft Prevention Act (ITPA), effective January 1, 2006, creates new responsibilities for employers regarding the handling and disposal of personal information received from employees and other individuals. Specifically, the ITPA (1) imposes a duty to destroy records that contain personal information and that are no longer to be retained, (2) imposes a duty to disclose unauthorized access to personal information to New Jersey police and to those individuals whose personal information may have been accessed, and (3) controls employers’ display and use
of Social Security numbers. Additionally, the ITPA provides an individual with the ability to implement a “security freeze,” thereby limiting third-party access to his or her consumer reports.
