1 Feb 2007, 09:00

A man did a Google search of his name and was surprised to find a reference to him on a law firm's website.

The reference was to an Employment Relations Authority case between the man and his former employer. It included his name, location and occupation.

The man wrote to the law firm and complained to this office.

The law firm maintained that under principle 11(b) no breach of privacy had occurred. This exception allows an agency to disclose personal information if it has a reasonable belief that the source of the information is a publicly available publication.

The law firm said that the Employment Relations Authority decision was available through the Authority itself, the Employment Relations Services library or through companies that offer a judgment ordering service. It had accessed the decision from those sources. I formed the view that law firm had sourced the information from a publicly available publication and so no breach of privacy had occurred. I informed the man of my preliminary findings, and he did not respond. I therefore advised the firm that it was not in breach and closed the file.

The firm, on its own initiative, took the additional step of anonymising the story in its online newsletter, as a response to the man’s concerns. The anonymised report still enabled the firm to fully inform its clients of the substance of the case.

December 2007

Disclosure of personal information – law firm – Employment Relations Authority decision noted in law firm’s online newsletter – publicly available publication – principle 11(b)