Michigan law holds employers responsible for protecting employees against ID theft

Thanks to Michael Fitzgibbon of Thoughts from a Management Lawyer fame, for sending me a link to the following article on the Littler Mendelson website.

Hot on the heels of the finding of liability against a trade union for not protecting members' information, the Michigan state government has enacted legislation to require employers to protect employee personal information:

asap_04_MI_IdentityTheft.htm:

"In early 2005, Michigan became the first state in the nation to enact legislation requiring that every employer maintain a policy for safeguarding employee social security numbers. During the same time frame, the Michigan Court of Appeals became the first appellate court to allow the victims of identity theft to recover damages (totaling $275,000) from an organization that failed to adequately safeguard personal information that was subsequently used for identity theft. These national precedents expose Michigan employers to liability for failing to safeguard employee personal information, and open the door to employer liability for workplace identity theft in other jurisdictions that likely will follow Michigan's example...."