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Employee Data Protection

Interdisciplinary Council on Employee Data Protection

A long table with office chairs

Published on 16 Jun 2020 und last updated on 26 Jan 2022

The BMAS has set up an interdisciplinary advisory council of experts in order to explore the prospects for leading-edge data protection and to examine to what extent any additional regulations are needed to clarify and define provisions for protecting employees’ rights in the digital working world.

Does employee data protection need to be updated? To clarify this question, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) has set up an interdisciplinary advisory council , coordinated and facilitated by the Policy Lab. In doing so, the Ministry is fulfilling a review commitment contained in the coalition agreement from the 19th legislative period. In question is whether or not an opening clause in the GDPR should be used and whether specific rules for Germany, for instance in a separate law on employee data protection, should be enacted. Under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Herta Däubler-Gmelin, former Federal Minister of Justice, high-ranking experts from the scientific community and practice are working on drawing up recommendations for legally secure and future-oriented regulations for employee data protection. These are intended to meet the data protection requirements of a rapidly changing, technology-driven world of work. The aim is to strike an appropriate balance between the information requirements of the employers and the employees’ need for privacy.

Initially, it was planned that the interdisciplinary advisory council would present its findings by April 2021, but the work process was delayed due to the pandemic. At present, the consultations in the advisory council are still ongoing.

Chair:

  • Prof. Dr. Herta Däubler-Gmelin, Bundesjustizministerin a. D.

Members:

  • Dir. and Prof. Dr Beate Beermann

    President of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

  • Prof. Ulrich Kelber

    Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information

  • Thomas Koczelnik

    Chair, Group works council of the Deutsche Post DHL Group

  • Marit Hansen

    State commissioner for data protection Schleswig Holstein and computer scientist

  • Dr Ariane Reinhart

    Board member and Director of Labour Relations, Continental AG

  • Prof. Dr. Anne Riechert

    Professor of Data Protection Law and Information Processing Law at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences

  • Prof. Dr Rüdiger Krause

    Holder of the Chair for Civil Law and Labour Law at the Georg August University of Göttingen

  • Benedikt Rüdesheim, LL.M.

    Master of Laws, lawyer at Berger Groß Höhmann & Partner Rechtsanwälte

  • Prof. Dr Judith Simon

    Professor of Ethics in Information Technology at the University of Hamburg

  • Prof. Dr Prof. h.c. Jürgen Taeger

    Of-Counsel at DLA Piper LLP;previously professor for civil law, commercial, business and legal informatics at the Carl von Ossietzky University in Oldenburg

  • Prof. Dr Gregor Thüsing, LL.M.

    Director of the Institute of Labor & Employment Law and Social Security Law at the University of Bonn

  • Tim Wybitul

    Partner at Latham & Watkins LLP, lawyer specialising in employment law

  • Prof. Dr Peter Wedde

    Professor of Employment Law and Information Society Law at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences

Please note:

In light of the current situation with respect to the coronavirus pandemic, the advisory council will be holding meetings virtually until further notice.