The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a decision that could potentially expand the liability of school districts for the misconduct of even ostensibly “low level” employees, if those employees are deemed to have supervisory authority over other employees.

As school board members know, 2011 marked a significant change in how bullying, harassment, and intimidation were dealt with in New Jersey schools. The “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act” created a new definition of harassment, intimidation, and bullying (“HIB”); and, significantly for school boards, created new investigation, reporting, discipline, and appeal procedures that must be followed when there are reports of bullying. 

On September 7, 2017, Equifax, one of the largest consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States, reported that hackers may have accessed the personal data of 143 million American consumers. This personal data included social security numbers, birth dates, addresses and driver’s license numbers. The breach also compromised credit card numbers for 209,000 consumers, and dispute documents with personal identifying information for 182,000 consumers. This stolen information can be used to commit identity theft which can cost significant time and money to correct.