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I have historically had little concern with privacy law in advising my clients. Yes, there are privacy commissioners, privacy acts and countless seminars instructing employers on the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of employee information.

Sometimes privacy goes too far, such as employers refusing to provide reference checks for fear of being sued, whether it be for defamation or privacy violation. This is despite the fact that the law protects employers saying even the worst things about former employees in references, just as long as they are being honest and not grossly negligent. And that is true even if the erroneous reference costs that employee a job.

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I have had limited concern over privacy law because it was toothless.

And this in the context of an employment world where potential privacy breaches abound. What about employees who are promised that that they will remain anonymous, their witness statements or confidential complaints never to be shared with the employee accused of wrongdoing? What about employees whose disciplinary records are inadvertently released to others and then, through gossip, to their friends, family or potential employers? What about employees whose sexual proclivities are disclosed? What about employees who are suspended during an investigation or fired, only to have the rumour mill invent some horrible crime?

The major case on employee privacy rights involved a female employee of the Bank of...

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