Three new laws affecting the handling of personal information went into effect in January 2007. All of these bills share a common goal: to protect individuals from exposure to identity theft by imposing limitations and restrictions on the use and disclosure of personal information.

Act 135, Notification of Security Breaches, will require businesses and government agencies that keep confidential personal information about consumers to notify those consumers if that information has been compromised by an unauthorized disclosure.

Act 136, Destruction of Personal Information, directly affects employers. The law requires businesses and government agencies to take reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to an individual's personal information when disposing of the records they keep.

Finally, Act 137, Social Security Number Protection, will restrict businesses and government agencies from disclosing consumers' Social Security numbers to the general public.

For an in-depth description of the laws, please go to: ID Theft Information-Business briefing

ALTRES has the expertise to help you comply with the new laws. Please contact us for more information.