San Francisco Employment Privacy Law Lawyer & Attorney : Littler Mendelson Law Firm : Employment Related Privacy Issues

What We Do

The Privacy & Data Protection Practice Group at Littler Mendelson is at the forefront of workplace privacy and data protection law, focusing on the emerging privacy issues confronting today’s employers. Our goal is to find new ways of helping clients maximize available technology while minimizing their exposure to litigation and government enforcement actions. Examples include:

• Developing appropriate policies to regulate the workplace use of the latest technologies - location-based tracking, real-time communications monitoring, instant messaging, camera phones;

• Counseling on compliance with state data protection statutes and regulations and preparing an appropriate response when a security breach occurs;

• Advising on privacy issues arising from internal investigations;

• Creating strategies to meet the requirements of international data protection regimes with respect to the lawful transfer of information about overseas employees;

• Meeting the challenges of on-going compliance with the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules;

• Drafting drug and alcohol testing policies and employee assistance agreements that protect the employer and respect employee privacy rights;

• Negotiating outsourcing contracts that protect the employer when third-party service providers breach employee confidentiality;

• Advising businesses on the lawful use of background checks for

employment purposes;

• Defending employers from claims alleging a privacy or security breach.

 Representative Case Studies

With its extensive experience in addressing corporate privacy and data protection concerns and ongoing analysis of developing issues, Littler Mendelson is often called upon to help businesses resolve complex privacy matters. Representative examples include:

• Littler Mendelson attorneys successfully defended a major airline against a wiretap lawsuit filed by more than one dozen employees after a hidden surveillance camera was discovered to have recorded voice conversations;

• When a multi-national apparel company with affiliates throughout Europe needed to import personnel information about European employees to its U.S. headquarters, Littler Mendelson attorneys developed and implemented the right compliance strategy;

• A Fortune 100 company turned to Littler Mendelson to develop an incident response program that would permit a rapid response in the event of a security breach and ensure full compliance with state notice-of-security-breach statutes.

• We have helped dozens of businesses attain full compliance with the complex HIPAA privacy and security regulations and have advised numerous health-care entities on the lawful use of patient information when defending against employee lawsuits; and

• Littler Mendelson successfully defended a large employer targeted by the EEOC because of its random alcohol testing program by overhauling the testing program and demonstrating to the agency that only those individuals whose jobs were critical to workplace safety were being subjected to alcohol tests.

 Publications

Imminent HIPAA Notice Obligation for Small Health Plans, by Lisa A. Taggart (April 2007)

Trends in Employee Drug Testing, by Nancy N. Delogu, California Lawyer (March 2007)

Privacy Rights Pitted Against Security, by John M. Julius III, Loss Prevention Magazine (October 2006)

Penalizing Applicants and Employees For Smoking: A Potential Smoking Gun? by Steve J. Friedman and Lisa C. Chagala (July 2006)

Rethinking Privacy: 10 Reasons Why Your Business Should Be More Concerned about Workplace Privacy, Privacy & Security Law Report by Philip L. Gordon, BNA (April 2006)

Workplace Privacy in the Age of Terrorism, by Philip L. Gordon, Executive Counsel (March/April 2006)

Responding to Security Breaches under Ohio’s and Pennsylvania’s New Notice-of-Security-Breach Statutes and Other States’ Notice Laws, by Philip L. Gordon and Christa S. Fossee (March 2006)

Evaluating the Evolving Options for Trans-Atlantic Transfers of Human Resources Data, Special Publication on International Data Transfers, by Philip L. Gordon (BNA 2005)

Toward The End of the French Exception?: Overcoming the Challenges of Establishing a Global "Whistleblower" Hotline, by Garry G. Mathiason and Ariel D. Weindling (December 2005)

DOOCES WILD: How Employers Can Survive the New Technological Poker Game of Employee Blogging, by Philip L. Gordon and Christopher E. Cobey, Privacy Officers Advisor (October 2005)

Employers Face Greater Risk from Workplace Romance: California Supreme Court Rules That Office Affairs May Give Rise to Sexual Favoritism, by Stephen C. Tedesco and Jamie M. Harding (August 2005)

HR's Role in HIPAA Security Compliance, by Philip L. Gordon, Privacy & Security Law Review Report (March 2005)

It's 11 AM Do You Know Where Your Employees Are? Effective Use of Location-Based Technologies in the Workplace, by Philip L. Gordon, Privacy Officers Advisor (February 2005)

California's New Megan's Law Website: Employers Are Cautioned Not to Make Precipitous Employment Decisions, by Rod M. Fliegel and Justin T. Curley (January 2005)

HR Outsourcing: Your Firm's Sensitive Data Could Be At Risk, by Philip L. Gordon, Denver Business Journal (July 2004)

Document Retention in the Digital Age: How Long Is Long Enough?, by Philip L. Gordon, Privacy Officers Advisor (July 2004)

Contact Us

This is just a small sampling of our experience representing clients in privacy-related employment and labor law matters. To learn more about the privacy law and data protection experts in the Privacy and Data Protection Practice Group and how we can assist you, please visit us online at www.littler.com.