Employees spied: H&M, due to the data breach 35 million euros

Employees spied on
H&M aims to pay due to privacy violations, 35 million euros

Health data, family disputes, holiday experiences – what was stored on the employees of a call center of the fashion giant H&M is, in the opinion of the Supreme Hamburg’s data protection without example. The imposed fine is steep.

Because of the Spying by employees of the Swedish fashion figures giant Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) a fine in the amount of 35.3 million euros.

With the Monitoring of hundreds of employees of the service center in Nuremberg, the group was in breach of data protection, reasoned the Hamburg Officer for data protection, Johannes Caspar, on Thursday the adoption.

In the present case, documenting a serious disregard of the employees ‘ data protection. “The sanction imposed is accordingly, in its height is appropriate and suitable company of violations of the privacy of their employees, to deter,” he said.

The case is in the jurisdiction of the Hamburg Commissioner for data protection because the company has its German headquarters in the Hanseatic city.

Known the case had become in the past year. According to the authority of the employees were at least captured since 2014 a part of information concerning their private life circumstances, extensive, and stored. After vacation and illness absences, supervisors had conducted a “Welcome Back Talk”, and then in a number of cases, not just a specific holiday experiences, but also disease symptoms and diagnoses documented.

Some managers had also “single and hallway conversations with a broad Knowledge about the private lives of their employees is, the more harmless Details to family problems, as well as religious beliefs enough money,” it said.

Expressly positive Caspar evaluated the Efforts of the Executive Committee, “to compensate those Affected and the trust in the company as an employer to restore”. It certainly recognize the desire “to have Affected the respect and appreciation that it Employed as a dependent in their daily use for your business earn”.

dpa

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