H&M fined $14m for spying on its employees

A German watched dog has finned H&M Nuremberg after the Hamburg’s data commissioner said the Swedish based company violated its worker’s privacy rights by secretly collecting information on its employees.

FILE - In this May 31, 2013, file photo, an H&M store is shown in New York. A German privacy watchdog said Thursday that it is fining clothing retailer H&M 35.3 million euros ($41 million) the company was found to have spied on some of its employees in Germany. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Hamburg Data Commissioner Johannes Casper said H&M collected data “ranging from rather harmless details to family issues and religious beliefs.”

The information was recorded and stored on a network drive accessible to 50 managers. The data was used to determine employees future at the company.

H&M’s practices came to light after the data was accidentally made visible to employees.

H&M Sweden has condemned the actions of its Hamburg store saying the store’s actions don’t represent the company’s values. They’ve also committed to paying all the affected employees compensation for the violation, but haven’t yet committed to paying the 14m dollar fine.

By: Niza Nondo