AM I AN EMPLOYEE OR A CONSUMER?

QUESTION:
I work for a small technology company that recently spun off from a big 
company. We're too small to negotiate good benefits at really good 
rates for the roughly 100 employees, so the company entered into an 
arrangement with an outsourced HR firm. In order to get the great 
benefits, the employees had to be transferred to the HR firm, and the 
company we work for is now identified as our "coemployer."

Recently, the HR firm invited us to participate in an online survey, 
provided by yet another company in which dozens of very personal 
demographic questions (about income, total family income, number of 
children, interests, etc.) were asked. The goal is to find out about 
our online shopping and investment habits and decide how to build a 
site that would provide us access to our personnel records online, 
including "salary, taxes, benefits, company-sponsored investments, 
etc."

That's exactly the sort of information I DON'T want accessible on the 
Web! I think if you get a pay stub every pay period, you have all the 
information you need.

In one question, they ask: "XYZ (the HR firm) is considering offering 
special shopping services to the site. Would you use them?" They follow 
up with: "XYZ could use information in your personnel records to 
suggest products and services, similar to the way other shopping sites 
do. Your information would only be used to give a personalized shopping 
experience and not be shared with any third parties. Would you find 
this useful?" Red flags went up when I read this survey.

Isn't it insane to expect that personnel records accessible over the 
Web would remain private, even with high security? Do I have a 
legitimate reason to feel betrayed because my company "gave" us to this 
HR firm, which is now treating us as consumers, not employees?

If, in spite of any complaints filed with our employer (the coemployer 
that we actually work for), this site does get developed, what rights 
do any of us have regarding the privacy of our personnel files? It's 
supposed to be a highly secure site, but suppose it gets hacked?
And what, if any, protection exists to prevent employer personnel 
records from being used as marketing target data? I'm offended by this 
whole thing! Am I overreacting?

REPLY:
Your question is long, but I selected it because I think a lot of 
people are going to face this dilemma. It's important to realize what's 
happening here.

I don't think you're overreacting at all. Your original employer may 
have made a deal with the devil, and you're the dividend.

The site doesn't have to get hacked before your records could wind up 
in the wrong hands. Online businesses (especially failing businesses) 
routinely sell supposedly "confidential" information about their 
customers and visitors to the highest bidder.

The HR firm will face enormous temptation to compromise your privacy. 
If it finds itself under financial pressure, it may not see you as an 
employee but as a record in its database. Will it treat you with the 
respect a real employer would?

The Web site could be 99 percent hack-proof, but that's not the risk 
you face. Your problem lies in your "employer" treating you as a 
consumer. I wouldn't trust any promise that your information will be 
secure.

Here's what I'd do: Get your buddies together, pool your money, hire a 
top-notch employment attorney, and have him or her draft a letter that 
expresses your concerns. I wouldn't say anything to the company about 
how you feel. Let the attorney do it.

You need to take a close look at what your company has become and who's 
in charge. You don't work for that technology company anymore: You work 
for someone else. What are their long-term business objectives? Do they 
agree with yours?

Some might argue that all your private information is or will be public 
soon anyway, so you shouldn't blame your "employer" for trying to make 
a buck off it. I say make the buck stop here, or pay forever.

Best, 
Nick Corcodilos 
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