March

To say that the newly agreed EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will change the existing data protection framework in Europe is an understatement.
 
After an intense legislative process of more than 4 years, the all-powerful trio comprising the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission have created an ambitious, complex and strict law that is set to transform the way in which personal information is collected, shared and used globally.
 
Those who are used to the regime originally established by the 1995 Data Protection Directive (95|46|EC) may recognise some familiar concepts and principles, but despite the similarities, the effect of the GDPR will be far greater than that of the Directive. In other words, the GDPR aims to take data protection compliance to a new level.
 
Therefore, it is essential that we start to appreciate what is significant about the GDPR. The next two years will be critical to prepare for compliance with what promises to be a game-changing piece of legislation.

The European Commission has announced an agreement with the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) to replace the invalidated Safe Harbor agreement on transatlantic data flows with a new EU-U.S. "Privacy Shield."
 
The Privacy Shield aims to address the requirements set out by the European Court of Justice in its Oct. 6, 2015 ruling by imposing stronger obligations on companies, providing stronger monitoring and enforcement by the DOC and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and making commitments regarding access to information on the part of public authorities.
 
In announcing the agreement, Vice-President Ansip noted his belief that the Privacy Shield will benefit both European businesses and citizens, and will prove to be a "much better" solution for transatlantic data flows.
 
Both Commissioner Jourova and Vice-President Ansip expressed their belief that the new Privacy Shield solution would be able to withstand future challenges but that, as the agreement provides for a "living" scheme, the practical work behind the arrangement was just beginning.

In any recruitment process, it is legitimate for employers to inquire as to the professional skills and experience of candidates for vacant positions.
 
In order to avoid any excess actions on the employers' part, French employment law provides that the information requested from any candidate may only serve the purpose of assessing his|her ability to fill the position offered or his|her professional competence.
 
French law also specifies that such information must have a direct and necessary link with the proposed position or with the assessment of the employee's professional competence. Subject to such safeguards, the French labour code states that the candidate must reply in good faith to such request for information.
 
Unfortunately, and especially in a context of high unemployment and increased expectations from businesses, it is becoming more and more frequent to discover inaccuracies or even outright lies and misrepresentation in candidates' resumes. In a recent case, the Supreme Court considered an employee committed an act of willful misrepresentation which entitled the employer to terminate his employment.