Does a new owner of a bankrupt company have the rights to my private information?

[wichitalady]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CO

A company my husband and I worked for in 2008 went bankrupt in Feb 2008. We have since moved on to new positions and are dealing with the issue of taxes and how to file if we have no W-2 for that company.

We have our last paystub which has all the info we need and we will most likely have a service file for us this year as it is complicated.

1000 people lost their jobs along with us. We now hear that an employee at the NEW company (an auction was held and the previous company was sold lock stock and barrel to an investment company) but they are NOT doing business as the old company. They merely bought assets, intellectual knowledge and such and changed their name as well.

I feel that while it is a NICE gesture for them to try to create a W-2 for the employees, I personally think this seems illegal. Basically - it is as if the previous business left all the items behind (which they did) and the new tennant of the building (it was rented by the prior and current) simply decided to go through the personnel files and use the information for what ever reason.

I don't see how this can be allowed? Is it legal? They are NOT DOING BUSINESS as the previous business to make that clear. It was a full bankruptcy (not sure if a 7 or an 11) but it was closed down and sold off to pay creditors.

Any help is appreciated here as I will pass it along to our other fellow employees/co-workers who lost their jobs and are dealing with this.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[Some Random Guy]

If tey buy the assets of the old company then they have ownership of the personnel records and therefore know what the employyees were paid. They can use this information to generate a copy of what a W-2 for employee use.

Information assets like customer lists and employee records are in fact assets that can be bought and sold. In fact, customer lists can be the most valuable asset of failed businesses.

I would expect it to be illegal (or at least against IRS regulations) for the new company to file that W-2 with the IRS without an agreement from the original company that those W-2s would be filed on their behalf.

 

[wichitalady]

Thanks for the response. I see what you mean about the records. It is paper after all (electronic or physical based) that they own. To use it seems wrong but in the case of selling a product I could see how they would want this type of information.

Since the previous company does not exist in any form - they could not contact them. They can call the employees of course but no one has the legal right to speak on behalf of it anymore.

I appreciate any additional info on this to see if there is an actual lawyer/judge who might know if this is something we can get them to stop on the behalf of a W-2. They can still poke around all they want I guess in our confidential records but if they know we will take action and are watching - maybe they will do the right thing and stop.

I always thought when you get hired on - you sign a confidentiality form with that company and it isn't transferable to any who might own the paper... oh well. Seems like identity fraud could be easy in this type of situation and with so many companies closing during these tough times, we may not yet see the real beast that could come of it.