We have been watching all of the activity around the proposed amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to see where the law settles to assist with compliance.

Not surprisingly, but nonetheless important to know, is the fact that the California Assembly on May 29, 2019, unanimously passed an amendment to CCPA that excludes employee information from the definition of “consumer,” and therefore, employee information is not under the CCPA umbrella for compliance purposes.

Specifically, the definition of “consumer” in CCPA now excludes a person whose personal information has been collected if the person is “acting as a job applicant to, an employee of, a contractor of or an agent on behalf of” the company if the information has been “collected and used solely within the context of the person’s role” with the company. This, of course, means that if the employee or contractor is a customer of the company, CCPA may apply. It is only applicable to the information collected if the individual is a job applicant, employee or contractor of the company.

It is anticipated that the amendment will be signed by the Governor. This amendment is significant for companies that are in the process of developing a CCPA compliance program.