Workplace privacy and information

Mathews Dinsdale has the expertise to help employers understand their obligations for the collection, storage and use of employee information, which employers are gathering — actively and passively — in ever greater amounts.

The extent to which an employee’s personal information is protected by law depends on a number of factors, including: jurisdiction of regulation (provincial or federal); sector (public or private); and type of information in issue. The presence (or not) of a union in the workplace can also have a significant impact on the extent to which the employer can implement, use, and rely upon various forms of monitoring and surveillance.

We help employers develop and maintain appropriate practices and safeguards to balance the competing interests, while accounting for additional obligations which may be imposed by the applicable privacy legislation. Typical subjects on which we advise employers include:

  • Background Checks
  • Protection of Personal Information
  • Protection of Medical Information
  • Monitoring and Surveillance