October 2006 will see a number of amendments to the Russian Labor Code come into force. Some of them are aimed at protecting the personal data of employees. According to experts at InfoWatch, it is the first sign of positive change following the recent adoption of the law “On personal data”.
At the end of July the Russian president signed the law “On personal data” to protect the population’s private information after it was approved by both the lower and upper houses of parliament. In October yet another law (from 30.06.2006 N 90-F3) “On amendments to the labor code of the Russian Federation” will come into force.
Of greatest interest are the completely new provisions of the law regarding the personal data of employees. Workers’ private information is always gathered and archived by employers, so regulation of several aspects of this process within the framework of the labor code is only logical.
First and foremost, the new law has made the act of divulging another worker’s personal data, made available in the course of fulfilling their work, equivalent to that of divulging a legally protected secret. As a result, employers have the right to dismiss workers whose actions or lack of action lead to unauthorized activities involving private staff data. At the same time, the revised law also allows workers to take their employers to court if they fail to protect their personal data.
“It is nice to see how the law ‘On personal data’ is bringing about a gradual reform of the Russian legal sphere in terms of people’s private information. The new provisions of the labor code protecting the personal details of employees are a perfectly logical step. It will now be much more difficult for companies and government bodies to cover up breaches of personal data, because it will be obvious to the workers themselves. And insiders can now be legally removed from the workplace for stealing sensitive information,” says Denis Zenkin, marketing director at InfoWatch.
Source: ConsultantPlus
