RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, data breaches are becoming a frequent occurrence among companies as society shifts into a culture that is predominantly driven by the use of technology in people's daily lives; and
WHEREAS, cyber-attacks are at an all-time high and in today's world, no consumer is safe from having their personal information hacked; and
WHEREAS, former Vice President of the United States Al Gore stated "[I]n digital era, privacy must be a priority" and some companies are beginning to do just that, by offering identity theft protection benefits to employees; and
WHEREAS, according to Willis Towers Watson, a global advisory firm, about 35 percent of companies offered identify-theft protection in 2015, and 70 percent have said it could be an option by 2018; and
WHEREAS, interest in adding an identity theft protection benefit started after a data breach occurred at Anthem, a health insurance plan provider, in 2015; and
WHEREAS, the massive data breach at Equifax affecting over 150 million consumers has accelerated companies' interests in providing identify theft protection benefits for employees; and
WHEREAS, employers are beginning to offer this type of protection as it is low cost and considered a significant benefit for consumers, giving them peace of mind in the event a breach occurs; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, the Internal Revenue Service announced the "Federal Tax Treatment of Identity Protection Service" which allows all employers to offer identity theft protection as a tax deductible benefit, regardless of whether they have experienced a data breach; and
WHEREAS, employers have a strong interest in protecting their employees against identity theft as attempting to recover from a breach can result in time and productivity lost during the workday, as most service companies are only open during regular work hours of 8am and 5pm: and
WHEREAS, a 2003 study conducted by the United States Federal Trade Commission found that identity theft victims, on average, sp...
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