Accuchex Blog

Epayroll And Employer Cybersecurity

Posted by Leslie Ruhland on Jul 4, 2017 9:17:24 AM
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Employers are responsible for an increasing number of tasks, and safeguarding employee information is one of them. Epayroll systems can help with that.

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Identity theft, also known as identity fraud, is typically a crime in which an imposter obtains key pieces of personally identifiable information, such as Social Security or driver's license numbers, in order to impersonate someone else. This is often done online which has led to the term “cybercrime.”

Cybersecurity, Identity Theft, and Your Employees

The number one reason for identity theft, of course, is to use that information for stealing money.

Cybercrime is on the rise and increasing every year. In fact, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III), the 2017 Identity Fraud Study, released by Javelin Strategy & Research, found that $16 billion was stolen from 15.4 million U.S. consumers in 2016, compared with $15.3 billion and 13.1 million victims a year earlier. In the past six years identity thieves have stolen over $107 billion.

Cybersecurity is a national issue, a fact illustrated by the National Cybersecurity Protection Act of 2014. This act was passed and was enacted in December 2014, and requires federal agencies to notify affected individuals “as expeditiously as practicable and without unreasonable delay” of the discovery of any data breach.

In addition, forty-seven states along with Washington D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico have enacted data breach notification statutes. These laws increasingly place the burden of cybersecurity and the protection of personal information on the shoulders of employers.

For example, in 2014, the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. settled a suit, California v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., with the California Attorney General, who alleged that Kaiser had violated state breach notification law by its “unreasonable delay” in advising affected individuals of an information breach.

This occurred after Kaiser learned that a hard drive containing personal information of Kaiser employees had been sold at a thrift store. Although it did not admit liability, Kaiser agreed to pay $150,000 in penalties and costs, and agreed to non-monetary terms such as employee training, review and updating of encryption and related policies, and conducting related periodic audits with reports to the AG’s office.

Employers Are At Risk From Security Breaches free paryoll outsourcing guide

Employers are increasingly being sued by employees whose personal information has been compromised as the result of a security breach. For companies with employees in multiple states it is imperative to become familiar with the state laws where they operate since these laws do vary widely from state to state.

Julie Myhre-Nunes, of NextAdvisor, offers these steps you can take to ensure the safety of your employee’s information and payroll security in the workplace:

Store and protect personal information

Employees trust their employers with a lot of personal information, such as their social security number and home address, so it’s the employer’s duty to make sure this information is protected.

Set strict policies and procedures

Even if you have all of this information stored in a secure location or protected with a top-notch encryption, it will not be safe if you don’t have policies and procedures describing who can access this information and how.

Educate employees on identity theft

Even if you’re taking all of the necessary steps to protect their identities in the workplace, your employees may not be taking steps to be proactive in their personal life or may not even be aware of how serious identity theft actually is.

Offer identity theft protection as an employee benefit

If you want to be a proactive employer who is really working to protect your employees’ identities, then you may want to consider offering identity theft protection to your employees as a benefit.

While many businesses and employers take steps to keep personal information secure, having a truly secure system in place along with strict access policies, etc. should be seen as mandatory. Taking these extra measures to enhance your company's security practices and to comply with all state and federal laws will not only protect your employees, but protect your company from undue litigation.

For example, Insperity suggests that employers should implement these steps in order to protect employee information and avoid employee lawsuits:

Have a system in place

Having a secure system for storing extremely confidential information is the first step in protecting sensitive data. Besides having a locked file cabinet, employers should have password-protected software in place for any electronic data.

Limit access

Experts say only pertinent human resource employees and managers should have access to personal files. More than 200 million confidential files have been released improperly by companies, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a San Diego-based advocacy firm.

Offer credit monitoring

If you have the means, offer employees a monthly subscription to a reputable credit monitoring service. If not, then host seminars teaching employees how to remain vigilant by monitoring their credit reports and personal data.

Epayroll Systems Offer Greater Security for Payroll Information

Cybersecurity should be a major concern for every business and for individuals. The threat of identity theft and cybertheft of businesses is a growing reality. By eliminating paper pay stubs with an epayroll process, for example, businesses can drastically minimize the potential of sensitive information being at risk. If a pay stub doesn't exist it can't be lost or copied. 

In addition, an epayroll system will provide your employees the peace of mind and convenience of viewing their pay stubs securely and at home. And having an online paycheck system along with online reports also means no lost records.

Considering Epayroll Process Options

As a business owner or payroll manager you have a number of options for your payroll functions. Software that can be installed in-house, or cloud-based programs, offers a good alternative. On the other hand, Paperless Payroll Management Solutions by Accuchex, also known as “Green Payroll”, combines tax payment and direct deposit. With direct deposit and online access and there is no need to have a payroll package delivered every check date.

Outsourcing payroll can save staff time, money and be the best payroll solution for your business.  In addition, many payroll services offer related services like insurance solutions, retirement planning, and HR functions.

You can be assured that the accountability and liability for payroll compliance rests with your vendor, freeing you from the constant pressure of staying fully informed and compliant with the ever changing - and growing - rules, regulations, and legislation.

In addition, all wages and tax payments are sent electronically and online access lets you view, print and save all payroll data. Employees have access to their wage history by logging into their own portal; access to complete wage history ensures they will always be able to view their information at their convenience.

Reliability, full-service options, and reputation are the hallmarks of a quality payroll management service provider. If you are currently looking to invest in outsourcing you get your Free Download: Payroll Outsourcing Guide to help you make an informed decision or call Accuchex Payroll Management Services at 877-422-2824.

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Topics: HR best practices, HR compliance, employee lawsuits, epayroll, cybersecurity, identity theft

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