A recent breach or “hack” of Sony Corporation’s security safeguards has been widely in the news in recent weeks, however the real impact of this hack may not yet be completely realized. The breach of the company’s security safeguards has affected not only celebrities, but employees as well. Now, it seems that the thousands of leaked documents are in regards to breach of contract, health privacy, employment, and more. The private information of both celebrities and employees is at risk, but it seems to go much further according to recent news articles.

U.S. government officials feel certain that North Korea was behind the Sony hack. Whoever it was, it has certainly caused an uproar among celebrities, film makers, and the company’s own employees. In fact, intimate details about employees that never would have been made public now have. Some of the information that has been exposed due to the breach include employee social security numbers, disciplinary files, medical records, and according to one source, one of Sony’s senior executives breastfeeding diet. Not only frustrating, but embarrassing for some.

Once source claims that out of 17 employees in the U.S. who earn $1 million per year working for Sony, one is a woman. What may be upsetting to Hannah Minghella, a co-president of production at the company’s Columbia Pictures division, is that Michael DeLuca, her male counterpart, is making nearly one million dollars more for doing the same job.

Following the November 24th attack on Sony’s entertainment division, employees were advised not to connect to the company’s email system and corporate network, as it had become apparent its security system had been infiltrated. Although Sony took quick action and did everything in its power, the infiltration occurred regardless.

Sony is likely to face an untold number of lawsuits in the coming weeks and months, as much of the information leaked is reportedly in regards to salary negotiations, internal communications about specific employees, discussion of termination decisions, performance reviews, and other data that could support claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, unfair termination, and more.

As Los Angeles employment lawyers, we can only imagine the issues Sony has already and will face in the coming days and weeks. Our firm represents clients in a wide array of employee-related matters including harassment, wrongful termination, age, race, sexual preference, or religious discrimination, wage and hour law, ERISA, and more. While taking preventive measures initially in a business setting to protect against these types of claims, it is still common for employees to file claims against employers. Contact our skilled team of professionals for unsurpassed legal guidance and representation.