GDPR Compliance

What Is GDPR Compliance?

The European Parliament adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in response to the public’s growing concern about privacy. GDPR replaced an outdated data protection directive from 1995 and establishes stricter requirements for businesses to protect the personal data and privacy of citizens of the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA). The regulation applies to transactions that occur within EU member states and the transfer of personal data outside the EU and EEA areas.

GDPR is not optional. Every organization that does business in the EU or with EU or EEA citizens must follow GDPR guidelines. Any company that doesn’t comply faces large fines, depending on the severity and circumstances of the violation. Severe fines can be as steep as 4% of annual global revenue from the previous year or up to €20 million.

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GDPR Compliance for EU Companies and Employees

To comply with GDPR, companies with EU-based employees are required to do the following:

GDPR Compliance for US Companies

Even though GDPR is an EU law, it also requires companies outside the EU to safeguard personal data. Any US company collecting the personal data of EU citizens is required to comply with GDPR. Personal data includes email addresses in a marketing list or IP addresses of those who visit your site. So US companies with websites, products, or services available to EU citizens should be GDPR compliant.

For many companies, implementing GDPR may require extensive changes to business practices. This can impact the finance, HR, customer support, marketing, and sales departments. Businesses must also ensure any partners they work with are GDPR compliant since they can be held partly accountable if their partners violate GDPR guidelines.

Here are some specific steps for US companies to take beyond the normal GDPR measures:

How to Check if Your HR Software Is GDPR Compliant

GDPR compliance in HR is crucial, as it safeguards employees' sensitive personal data and ensures ethical data-handling practices. For organizations and HR teams, using GDPR-compliant software is essential to mitigate legal risks, avoid hefty fines, and build trust with employees.

To check if your HR software is GDPR compliant, you should:

For example, here are a few ways BambooHR stays GDPR compliant:

To learn more about how BambooHR protects customer data, check out our Help Center.

What You Can Do to Protect Your GDPR HR Data

HR leaders must ensure GDPR compliance for HR data protection. Following GDPR guidelines ensures your organization is following some of the best security and privacy practices.

The best protection of personal information comes from a combination of continuously updated technology, thorough training for HR employees who handle and have access to personal data, and seamless communication about new requirements.

BambooHR addresses each of these concerns with our features and support, and we’ll continue to support our clients as regulations evolve.

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