In delving deeply into the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Amendments recently signed by the California Governor, and the proposed Regulations issued by the California Attorney General, there are some details that are important to consider for compliance that are not obvious in the CCPA discussions we have been following that we thought would be helpful to point out. This week, we focus on the Amendment relating to employee information. 

Although one of the recent Amendments delayed the requirement for employers to comply with the CCPA requirements for employee information until January 1, 2021, the exemption does not apply to 1798.100(b), which states “A business that collects a consumer’s personal information shall, at or before the point of collection, inform consumers as to the categories of personal information to be collected and the purposes for which the categories of personal information shall be used. A business shall not collect additional categories of personal information or use personal information collected for additional purposes without providing the consumer with notice consistent with this section.” This means that businesses with California resident employees, job applicants, owners, officers, contractors, directors, or medical staff members must still provide notice to those California residents that the business is collecting personal information at or before the point of collection, and inform those individuals of the categories of personal information to be collected, why it is being collected, and how it is going to be used.

Many people think the employee information exemption applies to all CCPA compliance for one year, but, in fact, it is limited.

The other point to consider is that the employee information exemption also does not apply to the private right of action that CCPA affords to consumers when their personal information is breached. This is a very important piece of CCPA that still applies in the event that there is a data breach of employee information. We hope these details are helpful, and we will provide further details for consideration in the weeks ahead.