Texas firm screwed up – so it sues Minnesota

Minnesota state government contracted with Lookout Services, a firm in Texas, to E-verify the immigration status of new employees. E-verify is a system much loved by immigration opponents and widely criticized by others as inefficient and prone to errors. Lookout, however, had a different problem. The company was inept enough that the personal information of 500 employees became available to anyone who knew how to operate a mouse. Obviously, that’s a no-no, so Minnesota severed all ties with the company, after MPR turned up the story.

Instead of slinking away, hoping no one would sue for invasion of privacy or breach of contract, Lookout Services is suing the State of Minnesota, and maybe MPR, too. The Minnesota Independent quotes an E-Verify statement: “[L]imited portions of the company’s proprietary software may have been illegally compromised by The State of Minnesota and Minnesota Public Radio.” Apparently they think that going to the company website and noticing that they have left personal info hanging out is illegal – but leaving said info accessible is not.