In June, Foundation staff attorneys filed suit against Communications Workers of America (CWA) union officials on behalf of several North Carolina citizens. 16 current and former AT&T employees from Burlington, NC alleged that union operatives intentionally displayed their confidential information – including social security numbers – in a public forum, leaving them vulnerable to identity theft and fraud.

Union lawyers responded by filing a motion for dismissal, but the judge wasn’t buying it. Although Judge Albert Diaz dismissed the invasion of privacy complaint filed against the union, he did not dismiss the Foundation’s main charges under the North Carolina Identity Theft Protection Act and the the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Diaz’s ruling was the first ever published decision issued under the North Carolina Identity Theft Protection Act. For a more in-depth description of the case, check out this entry from the North Carolina Business Litigation Report. The Foundation’s original press release can be found online here. To watch the Foundation’s video report on union identity theft in North Carolina, click here.