New Jersey Courts Issue Conflicting Rulings in Zip Code Information Collection Cases

Last month, two New Jersey judges issued opposing decisions in class action lawsuits regarding merchants’ point-of-sale ZIP code collection practices. The question of whether New Jersey retailers are prohibited from requiring and recording customers’ ZIP codes at the point of sale during credit card transactions is now up in the air, at least in New Jersey.

In February, the California Supreme Court ruled in Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores, Inc. Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores, Inc. that ZIP codes are  indeed “personal identification information” under the  California Song-Beverly Credit Card Act. This has resulted in several class actions in CA where merchants had been collecting such information.

http://www.huntonprivacyblog.com/2011/10/articles/new-jersey-courts-issue-conflicting-rulings-in-zip-code-collection-cases/