HR Brief: September 2019

This month’s HR Brief discusses the acting Department of Labor secretary and the recent Capital One data breach.

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Acting DOL Secretary May Bring Change of Pace

Following Alexander Acosta’s resignation, Deputy Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella became acting Department of Labor (DOL) secretary.

Who Is Pizzella?

Pizzella has been involved with labor policy for several past administrations. He served as assistant secretary at the DOL from 2001-2009 during the Bush administration.

Starting in 2013 under the Obama administration, Pizzella served as a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), an agency that oversees labor relations between the government and federal employees.

He became chairman of the FLRA following Trump’s  election until he moved back to the DOL in 2017.

What’s Next?

Prior to his resignation, Acosta and the White House disagreed on reversing or softening various labor regulations.

In comparison to Acosta, Pizzella and his pro-business stance are seen as more inclined to align with the Trump administration’s push for deregulation. He’s reportedly more apt to take action than Acosta was, so it’s possible that employers may see changes in the coming months. However, until otherwise announced, all current regulations are unchanged.

Pizzella will remain as acting DOL secretary until a replacement is nominated and confirmed. The president tweeted his plans to nominate Eugene Scalia for the position, but a formal nomination hasn’t been made.

Financial Industry Experienced 3,500 Cyber Attacks in 2019 So Far

In mid-July, Capital One announced that the personal information of more than 100 million of its U.S. customers was compromised in one of the largest data breaches involving a bank.

In an official release from the company, Capital One noted that the information exposed includes names, addresses, emails, credit scores and transaction data. In some cases, Social Security numbers and linked bank accounts of secured credit card customers were also compromised.

Although this data breach was one of the largest data breaches involving a bank, it’s just one of 3,500 data breaches experienced by the financial sector so far

this year. This staggering number of attacks communicates the relentlessness of cyber criminals.

As the number of cyber attacks continues to climb, it’s time that your organization evaluates its cyber security policies and practices. Companies must ensure that they’re complying with and promoting cyber security guidelines at their organization to help protect their data.

What Can You Do?

A data breach could cripple your small business, costing you thousands or millions of dollars in lost revenue, sales, damages and reputation. Contact Seubert & Associates, Inc. today for cyber security strategies.