Equity Residential California Job Applicant Privacy Notice

Effective Date: January 1, 2025

This California Job Applicant Privacy Notice (“Applicant Notice”) describes how Equity Residential and its affiliates, subsidiaries, and related entities (collectively, “Equity Residential,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) processes Personal Information of candidates (“Applicants”) through our job application process, including our careers website, jobs.equityapartments.com.

This Applicant Notice is provided pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”). Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Applicant Notice shall have the meanings given to them under the CCPA.

For purposes of this Privacy Notice, “Personal Information” means information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household. Personal Information does not include publicly available, deidentified, or aggregated information.

California employees, former employees, and independent contractors should see our California Employee Privacy Notice for additional disclosures, which can be made available by contacting [email protected]. In the event of a conflict between any other Equity Residential policy, statement, or notice and this Applicant Notice, this Applicant Notice will prevail as to Applicants who are California residents, unless stated otherwise.

We may update this Applicant Notice from time to time, as indicated by the “Effective Date” date at the top of this Applicant Notice. Any changes to this Applicant Notice will be effective as of the “Effective Date” date at the top of this page, unless otherwise expressly indicated. We encourage you to review this Applicant Notice whenever you visit our careers site.

Unless otherwise stated, the description of our data practices in this Applicant Notice covers our current practices and our practices in the twelve (12) months prior to the Effective Date.

CONTENTS

  1. Collection of Personal Information
  2. Use of Personal Information
  3. Disclosure of Personal Information
  4. Retention of Personal Information
  5. California Applicant Rights
  6. Contact Us

Collection of Personal Information

We may collect your Personal Information directly from you, such as when you apply for a position, from our websites with which you interact, from our service providers who operate on our behalf, from other businesses or individuals (e.g., references), or from public sources of data, such as government databases or your public profiles.

We collect the following categories of Personal Information about Applicants. Note that the Personal Information we collect about you may vary depending on the nature of your interactions with us and may not include all the examples below.

  • Identifiers, including real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifiers, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, or other similar identifiers.
  • Personal Information described in Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e), including name, signature, physical characteristics or description, Social Security number, address, telephone number, passport number, driver’s license or state identification card number, education, employment, and employment history.
  • Characteristics of Protected Classifications Under California or Federal Law, including sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, military or veteran status, race, ethnic origin, familial status, medical condition, disability, age and date of birth, or religion or creed.
  • Internet or Other Electronic Network Activity, including device identifiers, mobile network, operating system details, language preferences, referring URLs, length of visits, traffic data, pages viewed, and information regarding interactions with the careers site.
  • Geolocation Data, including approximate location of the device or equipment you are using.
  • Sensory Data, including audio recordings of interviews, photographs, and other electronic, visual, or similar information.
  • Professional or Employment Information, including:
    • Skills, qualifications, work experience, references, recommendations, and other information included in a resume, CV, application form, or cover letter;
    • Answers to behavioral or other screening questions in an application or interview;
    • Information contained in any personal webpages or documents you choose to share with us;
    • Information relating to professional licenses, training, disciplinary actions, and membership in professional organizations; and
    • Information relating to membership in civic organizations.
  • Non-Public Education Information, including school(s) attended, grades, transcripts, records of attendance, disciplinary records, and other information relating to your secondary and post-secondary education.
  • Inferences drawn from other Personal Information we process to create a profile about you reflecting your preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.
  • Sensitive Personal Information, including social security, driver’s license, state identification card, or passport number; account log-in in combination with any required security or access code, password, or credentials allowing access to an account; Personal Information that reveals an Applicant’s racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, citizenship or immigration status, or union membership; Personal Information collected and analyzed concerning an Applicant’s health (i.e., drug-screening information); and Personal Information collected and analyzed concerning an Applicant’s sex life or sexual orientation. We do not use or disclose Sensitive Personal Information for purposes to which the right to limit use and disclosure applies under the CCPA.

As permitted by applicable law, we may convert your Personal Information into deidentified data or aggregate Applicant information. We will not attempt to reidentify data that we maintain as deidentified.

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Use of Personal Information

We or our vendors may use the Personal Information described above for the following purposes:

  • Manage the Recruitment Process, including to open and maintain your application records and assess your eligibility for employment.
  • Communicate With You, including regarding your application and the recruitment process.
  • Operate Our Business, including to facilitate your use of our careers website.
  • Maintain Security and Integrity, including protecting our website from cyber risks; authenticating users; preventing, identifying, investigating, and responding to fraud, illegal or malicious activities, and other liabilities; enforcing our policies and terms; protecting our rights; fulfilling our legal obligations; and generally providing you with a secure experience when participating in the recruitment process.
  • Perform Quality, Safety, and Internal Research, including to improve our website, set default options, and provide you with a better recruitment experience.
  • For Legal and Compliance Purposes, including complying with applicable law, court order, governmental regulations, or other legal obligations; assisting in an investigation, regulatory requests, litigation, or arbitration; protecting and defending our rights and property, or the rights or safety of parties; enforcing our terms, policies, or any agreements with parties; comply with health and safety obligations; and prevent crime.

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Disclosure of Personal Information

We may disclose Personal Information for the purposes described above to the following parties:

  • Our group of companies, including with our affiliates, subsidiaries, locations, and brands.
  • Agents, vendors, consultants, and other service providers so that they may provide their services to us, including for recruitment and hiring activities, legal compliance, and business operation support.
  • Other parties at the Applicant’s direction or through the Applicant’s action.
  • Government or private parties to comply with law or legal process, respond to requests from public and government authorities, enforce our terms and conditions, protect our operations and our rights, privacy, safety or property of you or others, and allow us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain.
  • Our insurers and professional advisors to manage risk, exercise or defend against legal claims, and otherwise obtain professional advice.
  • Parties as part of or during negotiations of any reorganization, acquisition, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer, or other transaction where another party assumes control over all or part of our business, assets, or stock (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceeding).

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Retention of Personal Information

We retain Personal Information for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Applicant Notice or otherwise authorized by law. This generally means holding the information for as long as one of the following apply:

  • Personal Information is reasonably necessary to manage our operations, to manage your relationship with us, or to satisfy another purpose for which we collected the Personal Information;
  • Personal Information is reasonably necessary to carry out a disclosed purpose that is reasonably compatible with the context in which the Personal Information was collected;
  • Personal Information is reasonably required to protect or defend our rights or property (which will generally relate to applicable laws that limit actions in a particular case); or
  • Personal Information may be maintained indefinitely according to legal or regulatory requirements, including applicable legal holds, or for data backup or recovery purposes.

Where Personal Information is used for more than one purpose, we will retain it until the purpose with the latest period expires.

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California Applicant Rights

(a) Exercising Your Rights

To submit a request to exercise your Applicant privacy rights, or to submit a request as an authorized agent, use our HR and B2B Privacy Rights Request Form or call us at (866) 869-5413 and respond to any follow-up inquiries we make.

If you submit certain requests, we may request additional information to verify your identity, which may require you to log into your account or to provide 2-3 pieces of Personal Information that we will match against our records.

You may be able to designate an authorized agent to make certain privacy rights requests on your behalf. Such privacy rights requests may have to undergo our verification process, which includes verifying the identity of the agent and their authorization to make the request. An authorized agent may submit a request on your behalf using the form or toll-free number listed above.

If you need special accommodation, please let us know by contacting us over the phone toll-free at (866) 869-5413, via email at [email protected], or by mail at Two North Riverside Plaza, Suite 400, Chicago IL 60606 Attention: Privacy Compliance. Please be aware that we do not accept or process requests through other means (e.g., fax, chats, social media).

We will not discriminate or retaliate against you for your exercise of your privacy rights.

(b) Applicant Rights

As a California resident, you have the following rights related to your Personal Information:

  • Right to Know: You may have the right to know:
    • The categories of Personal Information we have collected about you;
    • The categories of sources from which the Personal Information is collected;
    • The Business Purpose for collecting your Personal Information;
    • The categories of recipients to whom we disclose Personal Information; and
    • The specific pieces of Personal Information we have collected about you.
  • Right to Correct: You may request that we correct Personal Information that we maintain about you if you believe such Personal Information is inaccurate.
  • Right to Deletion: You may request that we delete your Personal Information.
  • Right to Opt Out: We do not disclose Personal Information in a way that constitutes a Sale or Sharing of your Personal Information.
  • Right To Limit the Use and Disclose of Sensitive Personal Information: We do not use or disclose Sensitive Personal Information for purposes to which the right to limit use and disclosure applies under the CCPA.

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Contact Us

For more information on your privacy rights, telephone us at (866) 869-5413 or email us at [email protected].

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