Isn’t it true that nationwide employers can interview and hire employees for their California offices so long as they follow federal hiring laws? In a nutshell, no way. Hiring in California presents a host of nuanced, state-specific rules that often add up to “don’ts.” We list a few for you below.
Tags: California, HR Allen Consulting Services, HR Informant, Privacy, Employment, Reasonable Expectation, Right, Hiring
Wouldn’t we like to know if a potential applicant has ever criticized a former employer, or whether their online presence gives evidence of illegal activity or violent, discriminatory or unethical behavior? Or just poor judgment? What if they belong to political groups, like the Tea Party or the ACLU?
Tags: California, HR Allen Consulting Services, HR Informant, Privacy, Employment, Reasonable Expectation, Right, Hiring
Picture this scenario: you run a private residential facility for abused children. Late one night, one of your computers is used to access pornographic web-sites and other inappropriate material in violation of several well-publicized workplace policies. After further investigation, you learn that the inappropriate computer usage occurred on several occasions, but was limited to that one computer, which is located in an office shared by two day-shift employees in the administrative building. Several employees have access to the building and could have used the computer on the nights in question. Concerned that the culprit might be a staff member who works with the children, you hatch the perfect plan to catch him or her: place a hidden camera in the office! Of course, you don’t want to publicize its placement. That would defeat the purpose and the guilty party would simply find another computer to use. Besides, you plan to activate the camera only at night, several hours after the day shift has left the facility. The daytime occupants of the office won’t care that it’s there. Genius!
Tags: HR Allen Consulting Services, HR Informant, Privacy, California Constitution, Employment, Reasonable Expectation, Right, Surveillance, Videotaping
Drug use in California can cause headaches for employers. Balancing employee privacy interests against safety concerns forces employers to make tough choices with little guidance. Legal drug testing of existing employees is so limited that most drug use won’t be detected until after an accident. With increasing support for legal medical marijuana, many employers have struggled to determine how to respond to applicants and employees who test positive. Now, with recent case law and the FEHC’s final regulations, employers finally have the support they need.
Tags: ADA, FEHA, Drug Test, California, HR Allen Consulting Services, HR Informant, Privacy, medical marijuana
Gov. Edmund G. Brown signed a bill today, prohibiting employers from requiring or requesting employees or job applicants to provide user names or passwords for personal social media accounts so employers can gain access to the accounts.
Tags: HR Allen Consulting Services, HR Informant, Privacy, social media
California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced today that the state Department of Justice created a new Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit. The new Privacy Unit will focus on protecting consumer and individual privacy through civil prosecution of state and federal privacy laws, according to a statement from the attorney general.
The Privacy Unit will enforce laws regulating the collection, retention, disclosure and destruction of private or sensitive information by individuals, organizations and the government. This includes laws relating to cyber privacy, health privacy, financial privacy, identity theft, government records and data breaches.
The Privacy Unit will be housed in the state’s eCrime Unit and will include six prosecutors who will concentrate on privacy enforcement.
Tags: California Attorney General, cyber privacy, privacy enforcement, privacy laws, sensitive information, HR Allen Consulting Services, HR Informant, Privacy
Do you keep tabs on your employees’ on-the-clock activities? If so, you’re not alone: Two-thirds of companies monitor their employees’ internet use, a 2007 study by American Management Association and the ePolicy Institute shows. In general, businesses have the right to peek at employees’ computer terminals, monitor their website visits, videotape them, and listen in on their phone calls. And, in most situations, you’re not required to ask for consent — or even inform staff of your activities.
Tags: Privacy
