Have you ever Googled a candidate you’ve interviewed to find out more about his or her background? Or considered checking LinkedIn, Facebook or other social media platforms to find out more about him or her? Stop! If you are conducting internet searches to gather information about potential or existing employees or volunteers, you are collecting and using personal information subject to privacy laws.
The Legislation
As a private company, the privacy of your employees or prospective employees, is regulated under either the provincial or federal privacy legislation. Most business are provincially regulated meaning that the Personal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”) applies. If you are a federally regulated company, such as a shipping or telephone company, the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) applies.
This legislation was established to strike a balance between an individual’s right to control collection, use and access to their personal information, with a businesses’ need to collect and use the information for legitimate and reasonable purposes.
Personal information included in this legislation includes:
- Name, age, weight, height
- Home address and phone number
- Race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation
- Medical information
- Income, purchases and spending habits
- Blood type, DNA code, fingerprints
- Marital status and religion
- Education
- Employment information
PIPA gives the individual the right to see, and ask for corrections to personal information that you may have about them.
