Destruction of documents, drafting of electronically stored information, careful selection of employees who come into contact with the personal information of customers and employees, physically locking file drawers with sensitive information, and the creation of firewalls on computer equipment connected to the Internet, among hundreds of other solutions, are all good ideas. The old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is definitely the case when it comes to protecting personal information. However, no matter what preventive measures you take, there is no 100% effective way to ensure that employee information will not be compromised. Even if the information does not leave your company, an employee may claim that he did. It is a frightening thought! What if an employee claims your information was stolen through the actions of his company, but there is no real evidence to back it up? You will end up hiring (or using) an attorney to represent and defend your company in court.

A $ 150 – $ 200/hour for most attorneys in the United States, how long can you afford to defend your company? So what can you do? The only safe solution, or at least the only solution that would at least provide an affirmative defense against the fines, fees, and demands that you may incur as an employer, offering some form of identity theft protection as a benefit for employees . As an employer, you can choose whether or not to pay for this additional benefit. However, the most important thing you can do is make the protection available, and have employed a mandatory meeting, similar to what you probably already do for health insurance to help employees understand theft identity and Protection is making available.