Workplace privacy is a growing concern for employers. 

As new technologies enter the workplace and the legal landscape becomes more complex, employers are looking for practical guidance to help them stay compliant.  The modern workplace features advanced cybersecurity threats, instant transfers of sensitive personnel information, an abundance of employee and medical information that needs to be protected, and laws that protect employees from intrusions into their privacy.  Businesses need a teammate who can help them successfully navigate the complex intersection of privacy, data protection, and technology.

At Skoler, Abbott & Presser, we provide our clients with a full range of services to help them address emerging privacy and data protection issues.  Through practical advice and training, we help our clients avoid litigation, government-enforcement actions, and the negative publicity of privacy-based disputes.  We assist our clients by teaching them how to identify and reduce the risk of a workplace security breach, developing technology-use policies to protect against breaches, and responding correctly if a breach occurs.  On the employee-privacy side, our team routinely advises clients on the lawful use of background checks, drug and alcohol testing policies, employee assistance agreements, and other facets of the employment relationship impacting employee privacy. 

Our attorneys are familiar with the laws and regulations governing sensitive employee information, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) privacy and security rules, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH Act”), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”), the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Electronic Communications Protection Act (“ECPA”), and state data breach laws and regulations, including the Massachusetts Standards for the Protection of Personal Information of Residents of the Commonwealth.  We also have extensive experience handling data security breaches involving protected information.  When a breach occurs, we work with clients to supervise and conduct a prompt and effective response, which may involve interviewing employees, working with IT staff, or external forensics investigators to determine the nature and extent of the breach, drafting and submitting required notices to affected individuals and state and federal government agencies, and revising policies and procedures to prevent future data breaches.