Modern business practices and employee expectations demand attention to privacy and data security, particularly in California. CDF Labor Law LLP has a dedicated team of privacy lawyers focused on helping employers comply with the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA).
California’s Complex Employment Privacy Laws
Most California employers are subject to the full range of privacy data mandates under the CCPA/CPRA related to employees’ private and personal information. For covered employers, compliance with the CPRA is critical, as the statute includes provisions for both administrative enforcement and a private right of action and created a specific enforcement agency, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA).
CDF counsels employers on all aspects of employment, privacy, and labor laws. Our team has vast experience advising employers and will work with your company to develop and implement an effective compliance program, training, monitoring compliance, and providing representation in response to data breaches, regulator actions, and litigation.
Covered Employers Under the CCPA/CPRA
The CCPA/CPRA applies to for-profit legal entities doing business in California that meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Annual gross revenue in excess of $25 million in the preceding calendar year;
- Receives, buys, or sells the personal information of 100,000 or more consumers, households, or devices; and/or
- Derives 50 percent or more of its annual revenue from selling consumers’ personal information.
While the test appears to be “simple”, it also applies to any entity that controls or is controlled by a covered entity and shares common branding; and any joint venture or partnership in which the covered entity holds at least a 40-percent interest. Moreover, the Regulators use an incredibly wide view of the word “sells” that will capture many unsuspecting businesses.
How CDF Can Help Protect Your Company
At CDF, we assist employers with all aspects of California Privacy Law compliance. Along with our other workplace solutions, we provide specific assistance with the following:
- Planning Ahead and Rapid Response: CDF will help your company understand sensitive personal information and employees’ new rights under the CCPA/CPRA. We help prepare for responding to employee requests, answering questions about data security, collecting new types of data, and other pertinent strategies. When you have questions, you need them answered immediately, so we prioritize prompt communication related to advice on privacy-related issues.
- Developing a Comprehensive and Custom-Tailored Data Privacy Compliance Program: Our lawyers work closely with employers to develop comprehensive data privacy compliance programs. Whether your company has an existing program, or you need to start from scratch, we can provide a custom-tailored solution.
- Developing Data Maps: Data mapping is essential for compliance. Employers need to know not only what sensitive personal information they have, but also where (and how) it is stored. We help employers identify and track relevant employment data in their possession to maintain and demonstrate compliance.
- Assisting with Compliance Program Implementation and Providing Data Privacy Compliance Training: A compliance program is only as effective as its implementation. Once we help you develop your company’s data privacy compliance program, we will assist with implementation on an organization-wide scale. Our lawyers can also provide training programs for all relevant personnel.
- Monitoring for Ongoing Data Privacy Compliance and Remedying Issues On the Spot: We are available to conduct regularly scheduled and ad hoc compliance tests to assess the efficacy of our clients’ data privacy compliance programs and work with our clients to quickly resolve any issues before regulator demands that cause bigger problems.
- Reviewing and Negotiating Contracts with Third-Party Vendors: Covered employers are now required to ensure that their third-party vendors are taking adequate steps to protect their employees’ (and other consumers’) data. We negotiate and re-negotiate contracts with third-party vendors to help protect our clients from third-party errors.
- Responding to Data Breaches, Complaints and Other Issues: We also represent employers who respond to data breaches, complaints, and other privacy-in-the-workplace issues, including claims of invasion of privacy, drug testing, the use of company devices, and protecting our clients’ confidential and trade secret information. We have extensive experience in all types of employment-related and privacy-related litigation, and we rely on this experience to efficiently target favorable outcomes for our clients.
- Responding to Enforcement Activities: CDF’s Privacy Team is prepared to jump into action if the CPPA or Attorneys General's office is targeting your business for enforcement.
CDF provides timely, strategic, and practical advice to protect employers and their data in all areas of employment-related CCPA/CPRA, California privacy, and data security, and when necessary, defend employers against privacy-related disputes. For more information, contact our Privacy Team attorneys (Dan Forman, Linda Wang, or Dalia Khatib).
