Pandemic Unemployment Benefit Applicants Sue Deloitte Over Data Breaches

May 26, 2020

Deloitte Consulting LLP has been sued by a group of Ohio residents in two proposed class actions after their personal information was compromised on state websites the company built to administer coronavirus-related unemployment benefits. Officials in Ohio, Colorado, and Illinois announced that applicant information including home addresses and social security numbers had been exposed to the public on these sites. The lawsuits have been filed in federal court in New York, as well as state court in Ohio.

The websites at issue had been built by Deloitte to assist states in administering Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits, a federal unemployment benefit intended to supplement existing state benefits in the amount of an extra $600 per week for people impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. The lawsuits request unspecified damages, as well as rulings that Deloitte undertake specific steps to protect impacted applicants from identity theft.

Additional Reading

Deloitte Sued Over Pandemic Unemployment Website Data Breaches, Bloomberg Law, May 22, 2020

Complaint, Culbertson et al. v. Deloitte Consulting LLP, filed May 21, 2020, via Justia Dockets

Complaint, Bozin et al. v. Deloitte Consulting LLP, filed May 21, 2020

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