California Law Will Influence Candidate and Employee Privacy

A recurring, trending topic among California lawmakers, data privacy regulations have been elevated to a new level of priority in the state, and companies are taking notice. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), scheduled to become effective in January 2020, imposes obligations relating to consent, disclosure, and the handling of “personal data” of “consumers.” Since the term “consumers” means all state residents in this case, the law potentially applies to California employees. Recently, an amendment (AB-25) has been proposed to modify the definition of consumer to exclude data collected from a job applicant, employee, or contractor. If passed, this change in definition will, obviously, benefit employers.

Companies that are already complying with the GDPR in Europe will be familiar with many aspects of the CCPA, including its focus on collecting information, sharing that information, and disclosing to the consumer that information is being collected. An additional obligation of the CCPA is that consumers have the right to opt out of “sales” of their personal information. Other states are following suit with similar privacy regulations, notably Washington, which plans to implement its privacy law in early 2020.

Takeaway: Companies potentially subject to the CCPA will need to stay abreast of the changing legislation and examine their policies around employee and candidate data accordingly. Additional instruction and clarification will be published leading up to the effective date in 2020. Stay up-to-date about the CCPA here.