Privacy Policy

Empathetics is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy policy (this “Privacy Policy”) describes how Empathetics (“Empathetics” or “we” or “our”) manages the personally identifiable information (“information”) that may be collected from you during use of this website (www.empathetics.com) and each of Empathetics’ products and services made available via this website (collectively, the “Service”). This Privacy Policy does not cover information that may be collected through other websites, or websites accessible through our Service over which Empathetics exercises no direct control. By accessing the Service, you agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy whenever you access the Service on any device. This Privacy Policy forms part of and is incorporated into our Terms and Conditions.

Information Collection and Use

Empathetics collects very basic information (such as, first and last name, email address, mailing address, phone number and such other demographic information as may be useful to us in delivering and improving the Service), that you may be asked to provide to us when you (i) use the Service, (ii) require support in using the Service, and/or (iii) participate in certain promotions. Although you may be required to provide a credit card number in connection with any purchases that you may make with respect to the Service, as more fully provided herein, we do not ask for or collect social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, bank account numbers or other information that is more purely personal to your non-professional life. The information we collect is used strictly as a means of contacting you and/or billing you for your purchases.

By using the Service, you agree that we may collect, hold, process and use your information for the purpose of providing you with the Service and developing our business which shall include (without limitation):

(a) Contacting you, including for the purpose of administering the Service, informing you about the latest changes to the Service or promotional offers that you might find interesting;
(b) Personalizing your use of the Service and developing and improving the quality of the Service;
(c) Processing any online purchases;
(d) Using it for market research, marketing, statistical or analytical purposes;
(e) Using it to help diagnose problems with our servers, and for determining the frequency with which our visitors look at various parts of the Service;
(f) Using it to gather broad demographic information such as geographic distribution of our visitors and to allow us to provide goods and services appropriate to your place of residence; and/or
(g) Using it for archival purposes, e.g., in order to retrieve your learning results.

We collect your response to every question you answer; the time it takes you to respond to each question; the time you spend reviewing the results of each question. Our reporting system uses this data to display to instructors how each person is performing, including their levels of initial knowledge, and how long it took them to master the learning information.

Automatic Data Collection

Cookies: When you use the Service, a permanent “cookie” (a small text file) is stored on your computer’s hard drive. The purpose of the cookie is to recognize you as a return visitor the next time you visit, so we can enhance and customize your user experience. Cookies do not contain any personally identifiable information, and we do not use cookies to identify individuals. You may set your Internet browser to reject cookies, but doing so may prevent the Service from operating as intended, or at all, and you may not be able to use any or all of the Service. Browsers may vary, so check the “Help” menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.

Log files: To enhance the quality of your experience during your use of the Service, we also collect certain technical information from your computer each time you request a page during a visit to our Service and store it in log files. This information may include your Internet Protocol (IP) address, your computer’s operating system, browser type, the addresses of pages you visit before and after visiting our Service, the date and time of your visit, and which pages you view during your visit to the Service.

Profiles: We store information that we collect through cookies, log files, and/or other sources to create a “profile” of your preferences. Together with your purchasing history, email address and other information, including personally identifiable information, you provide to us, we use your profile to reduce the steps needed for you to use the Service, and to analyze and improve the content of our Service.

Collection and Use of Non-Personal Information

The Service may also collect non-personal information that is data in a form that does not permit direct association with any specific individual. We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose non-personal information for any purpose. The following are some, but not all, examples of non-personal information that we collect and how we may use it:

  • We may collect information such as language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Empathetics product is used so that we can better understand user behavior and improve our products and services.
  • We also may collect information regarding user activities on the Service. This information is aggregated and used to help us provide more useful information to our customers and to understand which parts of our website, products, and services are of most interest. Aggregated data is considered non-personal information for the purposes of this Privacy Policy.

Marketing Email Communications

At various points in the use of the Service, you have the option to join our email list and receive information about our products, services and offers. Also, if you provide us with your email address when you register online or update your account, log-in, make a customer service inquiry, opt-in to receive our emails, make purchases via this website, and/or participate in a promotion or survey, you may automatically be added to our email list and receive marketing or promotional information from us. To opt out of receiving email marketing communications, you may unsubscribe by clicking the “Unsubscribe” link that is included with each such communication.

Financial Transaction Data

In connection with most transactions that you enter on this website, a third party such as your employer will already have paid your registration fee to secure your access rights to the Service. To the extent that a third party does not pay for your access rights in connection with a transaction, you must enter your credit card information but Empathetics does not retain the credit card information you provide. Empathetics will send your credit card information directly to Bank of America (“BOA”), Empathetics’ merchant services provider. BOA will store your credit card information in accordance with its privacy policies. BOA does retain the credit card type and last four (4) digits of your credit card so you will have a record in your account of which credit card you have authorized Empathetics to charge for your purchases but all other information from your credit card is never captured or recorded by Empathetics.

Conditions Under Which We Share Information

We may disclose your personally identifiable information for the purposes described below, or for other purposes that you authorize:

Our agents, service providers and contractors: We engage third parties to perform certain of our business operations for which customer information may be disclosed. For example, when you make a payment via credit card, BOA will receive such information as is necessary for BOA to process your payment, including your credit card number. Also, if you take any of Empathetics’ courses (our “Courses”), your data will be provided to (i) Ziiva, Inc. the licensor of the Prosperity LMS through which our Courses are provided, and (ii) Rackspace US, Inc., the host of both the Prosperity LMS and our Courses. If we change our learning management system or our hosting provider, this Privacy Policy will be updated accordingly and your data may be shared with those new service providers.

We also disclose customer information to third parties that perform other tasks or functions, such as order processing and fulfillment, customer relations, technical support, training, marketing/advertising, legal, fraud prevention services and fraud risk modeling, and other administrative, professional, or consulting services. We allow these third parties to make further disclosures of your personally identifiable information only with your consent or as permitted under this Privacy Policy.

Employers.  If you are using the Service pursuant to an agreement between Empathetics and a third party such as your employer, that third party (all such third parties, including corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, or otherwise, “Employers”) will have full access to all of your activity on the Service and to your information. You understand that the administrators designated by your associated Employer will be able to monitor all of your behavior on the Service and your information and may share that in accordance with the associated Employer’s policies. If you have questions about your Employer’s use of your information, you should consult your Employer.

Third Party Products and Services: We may occasionally share your name and contact information with companies whose products and services may be of interest to you. Out of respect for your privacy, we allow you to opt-out of having your information shared with third parties for this purpose by adjusting the settings within the “Edit my account” section of the Service.

Continuing Education Accrediting Bodies: When you use the Service for purposes of obtaining continuing medical education or continuing nursing education credits, we may also share your information, including your performance on any of our Courses, with the applicable accrediting body that you or your Employer may designate.

Other Disclosures: We may collect, maintain, and disclose your information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights or property; to protect the rights, property, or safety of other persons; or to comply with law. We may also disclose your information in connection with an actual or proposed corporate transaction or insolvency proceeding involving all or part of the business or assets to which the information pertains.

Aggregate (Non-Personally Identifiable) Information: Information about you and your activities on the Service may be aggregated, or grouped together, with information about other customers in a way such that your information cannot be identified as yours. We may disclose this aggregate information to third parties that perform data collection and reporting services regarding our customers’ activities on this website, measure the effectiveness of our marketing efforts, evaluate the interests and preferences of people in certain categories, as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy, or in any other way that we determine. Third parties may use cookies on this website and may receive anonymous information about your browsing and purchasing activity on the Service.

Protection of Personal Information

Empathetics takes precautions, including administrative, technical, and physical measures, to safeguard your personal information against loss, theft, and misuse, as well as against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Empathetics online services use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption on all web pages where personal information is collected. To make purchases from the Service, you must use an SSL-enabled browser such as Safari, Firefox, or Internet Explorer. Doing so protects the confidentiality of your personal information while it’s transmitted over the Internet.

When you use certain areas of the Service, the personal information you share may be visible to other users and can be read, collected, or used by them. You are responsible for the personal information you choose to submit in these instances. For example, if you list your name and email address in a forum posting, that information is public. Please take care when using these features.

Access to Personal Information

You can help ensure that your contact information and preferences are accurate, complete, and up to date by logging in to your account settings. For other personal information, we make good faith efforts to provide you with access so you can request that we correct the data if it is inaccurate or delete the data if Empathetics is not required to retain it by law or for legitimate business purposes. We may decline to process requests that are unreasonably repetitive, require disproportionate technical effort, jeopardize the privacy of others, are extremely impractical, or which is not otherwise required by applicable law.

Data Retention

Empathetics retains Information associated with your participation in any Course, including your performance in those Courses, for not less than seven (7) years, as required by applicable accrediting bodies. Empathetics also retains Information as required by law. Other information may be retained or destroyed, in Empathetics’ discretion, subject to this Privacy Policy.

Security

We have security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of your information under our control. Empathetics’ cannot, however, safeguard any data stored on your own personal computer or any public computer upon which you might elect to access the Service. In addition, the Internet is not a secure medium and we cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted via the Internet.

Children

Empathetics does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Given the nature of the Service, it is highly unlikely that a child under the age of 13 will have any reason to access the Service or to provide us with personally identifiable information. If we learn that we have collected the personal information of a child under 13 we will take steps to delete the information as soon as possible.

Third-Party Sites and Services

Empathetics’ websites, products, applications, and services may contain links to third-party websites, products, and services. Our products and services may also use or offer products or services from third parties. Information collected by third parties, including such things as location data or contact details, is governed by their privacy practices. We encourage you to learn about the privacy practices of those third parties.

California Privacy Rights

Beginning on January 1, 2005, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits our users who are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an email to info@empathetics.com.

International Use

If you are visiting the Service from a location outside of the United States, you will be connected through and to servers located within the United States. All online orders will be accepted and fully processed and fulfilled in the United States and all information you provide will be securely maintained on web servers and our internal systems located within the United States. By providing your information to us, you agree that all personal information will be used in accordance with this Privacy Policy and pursuant to U.S. law and the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Privacy Policy Updates

Empathetics reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy from time to time. The most current version of the policy will govern our use of your personal information. In the event that Empathetics, at its sole discretion, determines that updates to this Privacy Policy constitutes a material change, we may inform you of such changes in a notice published via the Services or send an email to the email address associated with your user account.

Applicable Law, Venue, Jurisdiction

This Privacy Policy shall be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts without regard to any provision of its laws which would require the application of the laws of a different jurisdiction. For any dispute arising under this Privacy Policy, you agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the federal and state courts located in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. You further agree to accept service of process by mail, and hereby waive any and all jurisdictional and venue defenses otherwise available. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to the use of this Site or these Terms of Use must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.

Privacy Questions

If you have questions or concerns about Empathetics’ Privacy Policy, or use of the Service please contact us at info@empathetics.com.

Last Modified: September 10, 2015