CDR: Suing for SS# exposure

[George at Orwellian.Org]

Can't Tim May sue if he finds his SS# exposed?

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http://www.foxnews.com/national/110300/va_privacy.sml

Veterans Department Sued

By Employees Over Privacy Breach
Friday, November 3, 2000
By D. Ian Hopper


WASHINGTON - Department of Veterans Affairs employees are suing the
government, accusing the VA of breaching their privacy by giving fellow
workers and some patients access to their Social Security numbers and
dates of birth.

The class-action suit on behalf of the VA's 180,000 employees seeks
$1,000 for each one, the minimum amount under the 1974 Privacy Act.
If successful, that would total about $180 million.

The suit says that through an internal patient record system, employees'
personal information appeared along with the medical information on
patients. Workers at any VA facility could check up on VA workers
anywhere else, said the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in
Wisconsin last month. It said there were no warning screens or logs
of who accessed the information.
[snip]