Pennsylvania Court Holds Employer Liable For Breach Of Employees’ Personal Information

Written by: Richard Sheinis, Esq.

In a recent case, Dittman v. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that the Medical Center owed a duty to their employees to exercise reasonable care in collecting and storing their personal and financial information on its computer systems. Many other courts around the country have held that businesses to do not have a duty, unless it is imposed by statute, to protect personal information. However, as more breaches occur, and more states pass laws requiring not just notice of a breach, but that businesses take affirmative steps to protect personal information, we will see more courts making companies liable for breaches.