Illinois Supreme Court Rules BIPA Claims Accrue with Each Violation: On Feb. 17, 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court found that claims under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) accrue at each alleged violation, not just at the first unlawful scan or transmission. Given the amplified possibility of BIPA violation claims, this court decision is a clear warning that private entities—including employers that use fingerprint time clocks or other employee biometric access procedures—should evaluate their compliance with BIPA. Click here to read the Illinois Legal Update.

Continue reading →

Employment trends expert Rob Wilson weighs in

The threat of stagflation continues to loom large over the economy. When June’s jobs report was released last Friday, it revealed that employers hired more workers than expected. While this was good news, it also gave the Federal Reserve the justification to raise interest rates in a bid to fight continued inflation.

“While the June jobs report was positive, it has led to a plan to increase interest rates by 75 points,” says Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA and employment trends expert. “The theory is that raising interest rates will curb spending, thereby causing spending to decline and demand to fall. Unfortunately, this is a plan that is conceived to combat inflation, but we have no economic tools in place to fight stagflation.”

Continue reading →

Employment trends expert weighs in

The European Court of Human Rights just overturned a previous ruling which had given employers unfettered access to their employees’ emails and workplace communications. The decision is once again sparking discussion about American privacy laws and the ways in which employers are able to freely access all of an employee’s communications.

“Privacy is considered to be of great importance in Europe,” says Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA and employment trends expert. “Hence, there was a great outcry when the court originally decided to green-light the law which would allow employers free rein to read their employees’ emails and messages.”

Wilson says that the overturning of the law has reignited workplace privacy discussions in the States. “This is an issue that is of growing concern as many employers are now using apps to track their remote employees’ productivity. For example, apps that take screenshots of an employee’s computer or apps that track what sites an employee visits and how long they stay there. As we enter this new world of a largely remote workforce, issues of privacy are going to be of growing concern.”

For now, Wilson says that employers should cover all their bases by making sure to alert employees that any and all workplace communication is not considered private. “Your employees should be fairly warned that any messages they send on company property are able to be accessed and viewed by you. Privacy isn’t a right afforded to employees who are using their work computers to hang out on Facebook or write personal messages to coworkers.”

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.