Employees Say No Fear Of ID Theft In Workplace

The survey's results indicate a strong employee confidence in the current methods used by employers to secure sensitive information such as social security numbers, wages and salaries, and bank account numbers.

"Payroll professionals are tasked with protecting sensitive employee information in the workplace," said American Payroll Association Executive Director Dan Maddux. "The confidence shown by the American workforce in the safety of their information reflects the diligence payroll professionals exercise to secure this important data."

Identity theft continues to be a major problem across America. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that as many as 8.3 million Americans are victims of ID theft each year. Protection of employee personal data has never been so important.

"Today's dynamic technology environment makes it even more imperative for employers to focus on employee data protection techniques," said Karl Grass, senior vice president and general manager for Sage Software's Employer Solutions business, St. Petersburg, Fla. "Organizations can leverage certain payroll technology, such as employee self-service (ESS) to provide employees with secure access to their own personal information, and alerts functionality to notify payroll and management when sensitive data has been accessed, to help protect both themselves and their employees."

The online "Getting Paid In America" survey by the APA asked respondents "How confident are you that your employer adequately protects your vital personal information from data breaches/identity theft?" Nearly 40,000 of the 45,180 respondents indicated they were either confident or very confident that their employer adequately protects their personal information.

The "Getting Paid In America" survey was held in conjunction with APA's annual public awareness campaign, National Payroll Week (NPW), held annually the week of Labor Day. More than 45,180 employees responded to the survey, providing insight into how workers are paid in America. -- American Payroll Association