State Dept. Rolls Out Controversial Passport Cards The State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have begun issuing the new and somewhat controversial U.S. passport cards. So far, more than 7,600 cards have been mailed to advance customers as of July, the State Department said in a news release. Read this article

Technology News & Features FEATURED ARTICLE Final Rule Likely by Fall on Biometrics Collection from Travelers A final rule directing finger- and thumbprint collection from travelers leaving the United States through air and sea ports of exit will likely be published in the fall of 2008, says Robert Mocny, the director of US-VISIT, the agency charged with securing those biometrics. Read this article More HR Tech News File Sharing Data Breach Has Lessons for HR The recent data security breach at a Washington, D.C., area investment firm that exposed the Social Security numbers, names and dates of birth of investors over the peer-to-peer network LimeWire highlights yet another reason why HR must be vigilant in making sure employees know the rules about exposing work-related information over the web. Read this article At Google, It Takes a Village To Hire an Employee Want to work for Google? Be prepared to handle the crowd. The $167 billion company with more than 19,000 employees uses 'crowd sourcing' when it comes to making hiring decisions, says Google Manager of HR Technology and Operations Melissa Karp. Read this article Privacy Panel Questions Changes to E-Verify System Members of the Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee raised concerns about DHS’ E-Verify system during a June 11 hearing in Arlington, Va., at which DHS officials told the panel about recent updates to the system. Read this article Cost to Airlines Is Issue in Biometric Data Collection The agency head overseeing biometrics collection from all international travelers entering the United States by U.S. airlines tells SHRM Online the agency will consider a warning by Congress not to pass the costs of the program onto the airlines in the final rule. Read this article

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In Case You Missed It Check out these articles from the archives of the SHRM Online Technology Focus Area: Building a Better Intranet Intranets were once the domain of large companies, but not anymore. Separation agreements can help protect against cyber-bashing A former employer is bashing the company via e-mail. What do you do if there is no signed separation agreement that includes a non-disparagement clause? Consult the legal department. A defamation charge may be in order.