CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT ALLEGES DISNEY’S EMPLOYEE ID CARDS PUT EMPLOYEES AT RISK FOR IDENTITY THEFT

Disney has been named in a class action lawsuit, according to Linda Coady, Westlaw Journal Employment.  The plaintiffs allege Disney’s employee identification cards put them at risk for identity theft because the ID cards required by Walt Disney Co. include a bar code that includes its employees’ Social Security numbers.    The personal identifying information (PII) is easily accessible by using a low tech bar scanner that is available on most smart phones.   When the ID cards are lost or stolen, the Disney employees believe this puts them at an unreasonable risk of identity theft. The class action complaint also alleges Disney stores former employees’ cards in an unsecured location, also putting them at risk for identity theft or some other illegal purpose.

The proposed class definition includes employees at two Disney hotels in California, which includes more than 20,000 current and former Disney employees (plus future employees in California) issued identification cards containing
their Social Security numbers since February 2007.

The plaintiffs claim Disney is liable for encoding employee Social Security numbers on the IDs to the putative class members under Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.85.  California state law makes it unlawful to publicly display or print a SSN on an identification card, the complaint says.

Richards et al. v. Walt Disney Co. et al., No. BC459779, complaint
filed (Cal. Super. Ct., L.A. County Apr. 20, 2011).

FULL STORY

Do you believe you are a victim of identity theft?  Have you requested your free credit report?  Have you discovered errors on your Equifax, Experian or Trans Union credit report? Have you disputed errors on your credit report without success?  Contact data security and identity theft protection lawyer Micah Adkins for a free consultation using the contact form below. 

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