Employer's Privacy Awareness Audit

Ask yourself the following questions when considering whether or not a proposed course of action could violate an individual's right to privacy:

• Why did the employer collect and maintain the information?
• Was the information sought clearly job-related? Was there a business "need to know?"
• What were the employer's methods of seeking or collecting the data?
• What was the actual content of the data?
• What was the real or probable effect on the employee of the use or potential use of the information?
• Was the employee promised that the information would remain confidential?
• Was there any "unfairness" in the use of the information by the employer or a third party?
• Were there reasonable safeguards in place to prevent improper or unauthorized access to the information?
• Are there any statutes or regulations that apply to the employer prohibiting the employer's actions?
• Were there any other, less intrusive, methods of collecting or maintaining the information?