The number of companies experiencing data breaches is at an all-time high and still on the rise according to the Identify Theft Resource Center (ITRC), reporting the grim reality of a 40% increase in U.S data breaches alone in 2016 from the previous year with a record-breaking 1093 data breaches. As the world grows more interconnected
“The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will allow individuals to regain control over their personal data enhancing trust and adoption of new digital services,” said John Kleeman, Founder and Executive Director at Questionmark.
“However, the increased obligations that the GDPR places on companies rightfully present anxieties for business planners. Companies will need to invest the requisite time reviewing and enhancing their risk management and IT processes ensuring they meet the privacy obligations. The effort and planning are a short term cost for the long term return that a simplified regulatory environment and an updated data protection framework will provide stimulating economic growth through reduced costs and less red tape.”
The urgency for global standards and guidelines that inform interconnected systems on the legal use of and transfer of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data between HR systems has increased proportionately as the data privacy legislation ecosystem has evolved.
A Standards-Based Solution for Current HR Data Protection Concerns
In response to unfolding global Data Privacy regulations, HR Open Standards Consortium has released a Data Protection Policy schema that guides organizations handling PII to third parties to include data privacy requirements via metadata.
The Data Protection schema describes metadata that can be included with employee data to stipulate data privacy requirements. The Data Protection specification includes use cases to assist organizations in contextualizing the schema’s data types within their existing schema including Assessments, Benefits Enrollment, Recruiting and others. The metadata tags that stipulate data privacy requirements for employee data include Retention Date, Retention Days, and Geographical Restrictions for Storage, View and Edit.
“The timeliness of a globally pertinent Data Protection data standard is obvious as one considers the unifying objective of the GDPR and similar legislation,” noted Bon Idziak, President of HR Open Standards’ Board of Directors. “As organizations seek to obtain and maintain certifications with frameworks like the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and begin proactive measures to comply with the GDPR, it is crucial to have a standard method of communicating data protection stipulations to third parties. HR Open Standards’ extensible, HR-JSON Data Protection standard is a fitting solution for organizations looking to lead compliance efforts for the handling of employee data.”
For a more detailed report, you can read the consortium’s white paper on the topic: A Standards-Based Solution for Current HR Data Privacy Concerns.
HR Open Standards’ HR-JSON Data Privacy Standard, along with their full suite of HR-JSON and HR-XML standards, can be accessed on their website here.
About the HR Open Standards Consortium
Founded in 1999 as the HR-XML Consortium, HR Open Standards develops free, current, global HR-JSON and HR-XML data vocabularies in a transparent, collaborative, consensus-based environment open to all HR professionals and organizations. Their standards simplify human resources-related data exchanges.
By championing innovation and collaboration through global partnerships, HR Open Standards leads standards development projects to save HR professionals time and money by providing employers, government agencies, and software and service providers with free, flexible, and comprehensive global HR interoperability standards. For more information, visit HROpenStandards.org.
Media Contact:
Kim Bartkus, Executive Director
HR Open Standards Consortium, Inc.
+ 1 (303) 359-0687
kim(at)hropenstandards(dot)org