Welcome to Utah - Life Elevated - Welcome Signs on Waymarking.comJust as businesses are preparing to ensure compliance with similar laws in California, Colorado, and Virginia, they soon will need to consider a fourth jurisdiction, Utah. On March 24, 2022, Governor Spencer Cox signed a measure enacting the Utah Consumer Privacy Act (UCPA). The UCPA is set to take effect December 31, 2023. Note, Georgia and Massachusetts may be the next states to enact similar laws.

Key Elements

Again, as with the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) and the Virginia Consumer Data Privacy Act (VCDPA), UCPA was modeled in part on the CCPA, CPRA, and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). But there are some variations. Key elements of the UCPA include:

  • Jurisdictional Scope. The UCPA apples to controllers or processors that
    • conduct business in Utah or produce a product or service that is targeted to consumers who reside in Utah; and
    • have annual revenue of $25 million or more; and
    • satisfy one or more of the following: (i) during a calendar year, control or process personal data of at least 100,000 consumers, or (ii) control or process personal data of at least 25,000 consumers and derive over 50 percent of gross revenue from the sale of personal data.

Notably, as indicated above, it is not required that a controller be located in Utah to be subject to the UCPA.

 

  • Exemptions. The UCPA has a long line of entities and data to which the law does not apply. Although not an exhaustive list, some examples of excluded entities include governmental entities and their contractors when working on their behalf, tribes, non-profit corporations, institutions of higher education, HIPAA covered entities and business associates, and financial institutions. The UCPA also excludes certain categories of personal information, such as protected health information under HIPAA, identifiable private information involved in certain human subject research, deidentified information, and personal data regulated by FERPA. The UCPA also exempts personal data processed or maintained in the course of an individual applying to, being employed by, or acting as an agent or independent contractor of a controller, processor, or third party, to the extent that collection and use of the data are related to the individual’s role. This last exemption generally includes employee and applicant data, including the administration of benefits for individuals relating to employees.

 

  • Personal Data. Using a simpler definition than the CCPA/CPRA, the UCPA defines personal data to mean, “information that is linked or reasonably linkable to an identified individual or an identifiable individual.”

 

  • Sensitive Data. Like both the GDPR and the CPRA, the UCPA addresses a subset of personal data referred to as “sensitive data.” This is defined as personal data that reveals such items as racial or ethnic origin (unless processed by a video communication service); religious beliefs; medical history, mental or physical health, and medical treatment (unless processed by certain health care providers); sexual orientation, or citizenship or immigration status. This category of personal data also includes genetic and biometric data, as well as geolocation data. In general, controllers may not process sensitive data without providing clear notice and an opportunity to opt-out.

 

  • Consumer. A “consumer” under the UCPA is “an individual who is a resident of Utah acting in an individual or household context.” Like the VCDPA, Utah’s law states a consumer does not include a “natural person acting in a commercial or employment context.”

 

  • Consumer Rights. Subject to the exemptions and other limitations set forth under the law, Utah residents will be afforded the following rights with respect to their personal data:
    • To confirm whether or not a controller is processing their personal data and to access such personal data;
    • To delete personal data that the consumer provided to the controller. It is unclear whether this includes data provided to a processor or other third party with respect to the controller;
    • To obtain a copy of their personal data that they previously provided to the controller in a portable and readily usable format that allows them to transmit the data to another controller without impediment, where the processing is carried out by automated means; and
    • To opt out of the processing of the personal data for purposes of (i) targeted advertising, or (ii) sale.

 

  • Controllers. Similar to the CCPA/CPRA, CPA, and VCDPA, controllers must provide an accessible and clear privacy notice that includes, among other things, the categories of personal data collected by the controller and how consumers may exercise a right with respect to their personal data. As with the CPRA, controllers are required to establish, implement, and maintain reasonable administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.

 

  • ProcessorsProcessors are persons that “process” (collect, use, store, disclose analyze, delete, or modify) personal information on behalf of controllers. Before processors may do so, they must enter into a contract that (i) clearly sets forth instructions for processing personal data, the nature and purpose of the processing, the type of data subject to processing, the duration of the processing, and the parties’ rights and obligations; (ii) requires the processor to ensure each person processing personal data is subject to a duty of confidentiality with respect to the personal data; and (iii) requires the processor to engage any subcontractor pursuant to a written contract that requires the subcontractor to meet the same obligations as the processor with respect to the personal data. Businesses with consumers in multiple states will have to compare these required provisions against those required under the CPRA, CPA, and VCDPA, as well as other privacy and security frameworks that may be applicable.

 

  • Enforcement. The Utah Attorney General’s office has exclusive enforcement over the UCPA. In addition, a controller or processor must be provided 30 days’ written notice of any violation, allowing the entity the opportunity to cure the violation. Failure to cure the violation allows the Attorney General to recover actual damages to the consumer and a fine of up to $7,500 per violation. A private right of action is not available under the UCPA.

Takeaway

States across the country are contemplating ways to enhance their data privacy and security protections. Accordingly, organizations, regardless of their location, should be assessing and reviewing their data collection activities, building robust data protection programs, and investing in written information security programs.

Print:
Email this postTweet this postLike this postShare this post on LinkedIn
Photo of Joseph J. Lazzarotti Joseph J. Lazzarotti

Joseph J. Lazzarotti is a principal in the Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He founded and currently co-leads the firm’s Privacy, Data and Cybersecurity practice group, edits the firm’s Privacy Blog, and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP)…

Joseph J. Lazzarotti is a principal in the Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He founded and currently co-leads the firm’s Privacy, Data and Cybersecurity practice group, edits the firm’s Privacy Blog, and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) with the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Trained as an employee benefits lawyer, focused on compliance, Joe also is a member of the firm’s Employee Benefits practice group.

In short, his practice focuses on the matrix of laws governing the privacy, security, and management of data, as well as the impact and regulation of social media. He also counsels companies on compliance, fiduciary, taxation, and administrative matters with respect to employee benefit plans.

Privacy and cybersecurity experience – Joe counsels multinational, national and regional companies in all industries on the broad array of laws, regulations, best practices, and preventive safeguards. The following are examples of areas of focus in his practice:

  • Advising health care providers, business associates, and group health plan sponsors concerning HIPAA/HITECH compliance, including risk assessments, policies and procedures, incident response plan development, vendor assessment and management programs, and training.
  • Coached hundreds of companies through the investigation, remediation, notification, and overall response to data breaches of all kinds – PHI, PII, payment card, etc.
  • Helping organizations address questions about the application, implementation, and overall compliance with European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and, in particular, its implications in the U.S., together with preparing for the California Consumer Privacy Act.
  • Working with organizations to develop and implement video, audio, and data-driven monitoring and surveillance programs. For instance, in the transportation and related industries, Joe has worked with numerous clients on fleet management programs involving the use of telematics, dash-cams, event data recorders (EDR), and related technologies. He also has advised many clients in the use of biometrics including with regard to consent, data security, and retention issues under BIPA and other laws.
  • Assisting clients with growing state data security mandates to safeguard personal information, including steering clients through detailed risk assessments and converting those assessments into practical “best practice” risk management solutions, including written information security programs (WISPs). Related work includes compliance advice concerning FTC Act, Regulation S-P, GLBA, and New York Reg. 500.
  • Advising clients about best practices for electronic communications, including in social media, as well as when communicating under a “bring your own device” (BYOD) or “company owned personally enabled device” (COPE) environment.
  • Conducting various levels of privacy and data security training for executives and employees
  • Supports organizations through mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations with regard to the handling of employee and customer data, and the safeguarding of that data during the transaction.
  • Representing organizations in matters involving inquiries into privacy and data security compliance before federal and state agencies including the HHS Office of Civil Rights, Federal Trade Commission, and various state Attorneys General.

Benefits counseling experience – Joe’s work in the benefits counseling area covers many areas of employee benefits law. Below are some examples of that work:

  • As part of the Firm’s Health Care Reform Team, he advises employers and plan sponsors regarding the establishment, administration and operation of fully insured and self-funded health and welfare plans to comply with ERISA, IRC, ACA/PPACA, HIPAA, COBRA, ADA, GINA, and other related laws.
  • Guiding clients through the selection of plan service providers, along with negotiating service agreements with vendors to address plan compliance and operations, while leveraging data security experience to ensure plan data is safeguarded.
  • Counsels plan sponsors on day-to-day compliance and administrative issues affecting plans.
  • Assists in the design and drafting of benefit plan documents, including severance and fringe benefit plans.
  • Advises plan sponsors concerning employee benefit plan operation, administration and correcting errors in operation.

Joe speaks and writes regularly on current employee benefits and data privacy and cybersecurity topics and his work has been published in leading business and legal journals and media outlets, such as The Washington Post, Inside Counsel, Bloomberg, The National Law Journal, Financial Times, Business Insurance, HR Magazine and NPR, as well as the ABA Journal, The American Lawyer, Law360, Bender’s Labor and Employment Bulletin, the Australian Privacy Law Bulletin and the Privacy, and Data Security Law Journal.

Joe served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Laura Denvir Stith on the Missouri Court of Appeals.