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The Recognized Authority on Human Resource Systems and Technology

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To Be the Leading Professional Association for Knowledge, Education and Solutions Supporting Human Capital Management

Web-based HR Solutions Deliver Higher ROI Compared with Web-Enabled Counterparts

HR departments face increasing pressure in today’s challenging economic marketplace to make the correct decision when evaluating technology solutions to maximize benefits while minimizing costs.

By Robert C. Meltzer, Esq., CEO, VISANOW

Technology has revolutionized HR departments during the past decade. Administrative – and often isolated – activities have been translated into streamlined solutions, while HR best practices have been formalized and strengthened by technology ranging from fully integrated HRIS packages to company-wide intranets. Innovative solutions have the potential to continue redefining the workplace and boosting internal performance. But in this era of shrinking budgets and expanding expectations, selecting the best technology to invest in has become more critical than ever. - and you can guess what the lack of enthusiasm might be.

Click here to read the full article.

Update from the Workforce Privacy Network
Covering April 2008

After a decade of debate, both houses of Congress passed a bill designed to bar discrimination by employers and insurance companies on the basis of information obtained from genetic tests. The bill, the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA), was sent on to the President, who previously indicated he would sign it into law. 31 states already have laws related to genetic discrimination by employers. The employment provisions of the bill would not apply until 18 months after enactment.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled in April that customs agents may search laptops and portable storage devices, such as cell phones and PDAs, at border crossings without probable cause or evidence of wrongdoing. The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) has warned its members to limit the amount of proprietary business information and personal information they bring with them when entering the US. Two months ago the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Asian Law Caucus filed a law suit seeking to determine what policies customs agents follow in carrying out such searches.
Eighteen Japanese firms, including Matsushita Electrical, Fujitsu, Fuji Xerox, Canon, Nikkei Business Media and Mitsubishi, announced creation of a data security ratings agency. The new firm, called IS Rating, will be launched on May 1 and start issuing ratings in July, both to Japanese and foreign enterprises. It will give out ratings based on how organizations manage data, including files containing personal information, which circulates within the firm or is shared with third parties. The announcement follows one in December 2007 that Moody’s was planning a service to provide risk/quality ratings of vendors who process information for financial services firms.
Richard Thomas, the UK Information Commissioner, called EU data protection laws ‘outdated and bureaucratic’ and is urging Brussels to overhaul the legislation. According to Thomas, the EU Data Protection Directive is “not sufficiently clear in its objectives, more bureaucratic and burdensome than it needs to be and is out of step with good regulatory practices”. He started a review process that will involve hiring of a consultant and issuance of a report to the Spring Conference of European Data Protection Commissioners in April 2009.
The Article 29 Working Party issued an opinion paper stating that IP addresses need to be regarded as personal information and that Internet search engines, such as those provided by Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, should delete records of searches after six months. These and a series of related recommendations do not currently have the force of law, but are likely to be adopted by the European Commission
Seven breaches of employee data were reported in April: Pfizer, in its fifth breach in 15 months, disclosed that a laptop containing records of 800 employees was stolen from the home of a contractor proving travel services; the West Seneca School District (NY) reported that information on 1,800 employees was exposed by hacking by two teenage students; the University of Toledo, which suffered a breach last month, disclosed that payroll information of 6,488 employees was accidentally posted on the university’s intranet; the Baltimore Highway Administration announced a breach of 1,800 employee records due to an inappropriate use of a shared network drive; Siemens disclosed that information on 3,542 employees was exposed when a laptop was stolen from the home of an employee; Stryker reported that its VPN had been repeatedly penetrated by an unauthorized user using an administrative password, exposing personal information of an undisclosed number of employees; and SPX disclosed that information of 403 employees was missing on a laptop stolen from a vendor, USintemetworking.

Workforce Privacy Network - "Tips for Managing Privacy in an Outsourced World". Please plan to join special guest speaker, Pam Garay, Privacy Director, of Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., representing IHRIM's Workforce Privacy Network Affinity Group at a Monday afternoon session that begins at 1:30 PM. Pam will discuss the current state of outsourcing and outsourcing models in place today. She will provide an overview of outsourcing challenges for managing privacy, best practices, and considerations for building successful business relationships. If you outsource any part of your business process operation, plan to attend this interactive session to learn from your peers and experts more about the fields of privacy and outsourcing.

For more privacy and security content, go to the Workforce Privacy Network's web site:
http://www.hr-privacy-security.org/

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