Benefits October 5, 2012
University of Chicago Mistakenly Mails Employee Socials
October 5, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A University of Chicago benefits open enrollment period mistake has led to a breach of employee social security information.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
The University reported that Social Security numbers of about 9,100 University of Chicago employees were printed on a postcard mailed to faculty and staff reminding them about the open enrollment period for 2013 health benefits, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Gwynne Dilday, an associate vice president of human resource services, said there is no reason to believe outside parties recognized or used the employees’ personal information.
Still, the university encouraged employees to throw out the postcard in a secure way, and to place a 90-day “fraud alert” on credit files. It also is offering to pay for one year of credit monitoring for all employees who were sent the postcard.