Five states, including Michigan, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Texas and New York, each have enacted statues that may require employers to create employee privacy policies. Employers who unlawfully disseminate an employee’s social security number face a fine of $500. In Michigan, $275,000 was awarded to a group of employees who sued their union after it failed to safeguard their SSNs. Some important things to consider when drafting or reviewing an employee privacy policy are whether the policy demonstrates how the company gathers personal information, whether it ensures the confidentiality of that information, and whether it explains how employee SSN and other personal information is protected.
