Ecolab Global Applicant Privacy Notice

Last updated: November 2024

This Global Applicant Privacy Notice ("Applicant Privacy Notice” or “Notice”) describes the handling of personal information obtained about internal and external job applicants who have applied directly through the Ecolab Jobs Site as well as through third party agencies and recruiters on behalf of job applicants. Personal information is information, or a combination of pieces of information, that could reasonably allow you to be identified.

This Applicant Privacy Notice describes how Ecolab collects and processes personal information about you, how we use and protect this information, and the rights that may be available to you under applicable law regarding this information. Ecolab acknowledges that certain laws may impose additional requirements than those described in this Applicant Privacy Notice. As such, this Notice is supplemental to the public-facing Ecolab Privacy Policy, to the extent you may have interacted with the public-facing areas of the Ecolab website during your application process. Also, any local notices or privacy-related disclosures specific to your country of residence shall supersede this Applicant Privacy Notice, to the degree to which there is a conflict.


What Personal Information Do We Collect About You?

Personal information (also commonly known as personally identifiable information or personal data) is information that can be used to identify you, or any other individual to whom the information may relate. Ecolab collects information consistent with what is allowed by your country of residence. The personal information that we collect in conjunction with your job application may include the following:

  • Name and contact information (for example, address; phone number; email, fax);
  • Emergency contact information (for example, phone number; relation);
  • Personnel information (for example, date of birth, marital status, birthplace, nationality, residency, citizenship, work permit status, military status, nationality, preferred language);
  • Identification information (for example, SSN or other national identification number, passport number, driver’s license number, license plate number);
  • Account information (for example, login credentials for Ecolab Job Portal);
  • Education and training (for example, education level, field and institution, competency assessments, professional licenses and certifications, or training courses);
  • Professional history (for example, previous employers or previous positions; letters of recommendation);
  • Audio and visual information (for example CCTV recordings if you visit one of our offices);
  • Unique personal identifiers affiliated with certain website tracking technology as described in Ecolab’s Cookie Notice, and as you can opt-out of consistent with that Cookie Notice (for example device identifier; cookies, beacons, pixel tags, mobile ad identifiers, or other similar technology; or other forms of persistent identifiers). Please note that, while this Applicant Privacy Notice applies across all applicant activity, the applicability of cookies and the affiliated cookie notice may vary if you are on certain websites outside of www.ecolab.com.

We may collect sensitive or special category information about you, as permitted or required by local laws. Sensitive information is personal information that may have special protection under certain data protection laws. We do not collect sensitive personal information in all jurisdictions in which we operate. We consider the following categories of information as sensitive information that we collect for the following reasons, to the extent legally allowed or for the purposes of complying with local laws:

  • Information related to diversity (for example, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, veteran status and/or disabilities);
  • Citizenship or immigration information (for example, for visa purposes, right to work information);
  • Information about any health issues or disabilities (for example, your disability status, any requests for accommodation in the application or interview process);
  • Information about your health status, where appropriate (for example, confirmation of your wellness before attending an in-person interview);
  • Your trade union, works council membership or employee representative status, if you disclose this in your resume or during the interview process.

We may also collect any sensitive information that you voluntarily disclose, including the information described above and other information you choose to share during the application process such as political opinions or religious or philosophical beliefs.

If we request your explicit consent to collect sensitive information about you, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time by contacting us at dataprivacy@ecolab.com (not all of the categories mentioned above require your consent).


What Are the Sources of Personal Information Collected by Ecolab?

When providing personal information to Ecolab as described in this Applicant Privacy Notice, that personal information is typically collected directly from you, and you will know the precise personal information being collected by us. If you visit one of our offices, we may collect audio and visual data (for example, CCTV recordings) related to that visit.

If you are a job applicant using a third-party job search engine, a social media platform (for example LinkedIn), or a recruiter that is not affiliated with Ecolab, Ecolab may receive some of your personal information indirectly through those respective sources. Please be advised this Applicant Privacy Notice does not apply to external third parties and Ecolab has no control over the privacy practices of external third parties. It is recommended that you review the privacy practices of the particular website, entity, or individual by contacting them directly or reviewing information available on their websites.

In certain limited circumstances, third-party service providers may also collect information on behalf of Ecolab (for example for the purposes of background checks, screening, etc.), though such collection of your information will always be within the context of your employment or application, and we will inform you that a third-party is collecting your information at the time of collection.


How Does Ecolab Use Personal Information?

Subject to the terms of this Applicant Privacy Notice, Ecolab uses the above-described categories of personal information in several ways. Unless otherwise stated specifically, the above information may be used for any of the purposes listed below. These purposes are not all inclusive, and you may receive subsequent notice about additional purposes for other, specific types of processing. Ecolab may use your personal information to:

  • Determine your eligibility for employment, including verification of references and qualifications;
  • Assess qualifications for a particular job or task;
  • Comply with applicable labor or employment statutes;
  • Contact you regarding other recruitment opportunities;
  • Provide general information about Ecolab;
  • Respond to your queries and requests;
  • Comply with requests for information from government agencies and security investigations, or to assert or defend a legal claim;
  • Administer our applications, software, and electronic systems;
  • Manage corporate compliance, internal audit, and other similar administration tasks;
  • Prevent potentially fraudulent, prohibited, or illegal activities;
  • For other such purposes as are necessary and reasonably required by Ecolab for which you will receive subsequent notice if it is a material deviation from the above purposes.

In applicable countries, the information that you provide in the equal opportunities section of a job application will be used for the sole purpose of monitoring equal opportunities within the Ecolab global enterprise. Ecolab does not use this information for marketing purposes.

Ecolab may collect similar or related information or use personal information for a similar or related purpose consistent with laws and regulations of a particular jurisdiction. Where required, subsequent notice will be provided prior to further collection. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have data subject rights such as deletion, correction, or limitation of use. Such data subject rights, and the jurisdictions where they are applicable, are described below or in jurisdiction-specific notices.

Certain information collected is required to establish the employment relationship. If you choose not to provide required information, we may not be able to pursue or continue an employment contract or provide all of the benefits of employment that would otherwise be available to you. You may inquire at any time as to whether certain information is required or optional and understand how removal of certain information may impact you.


How Does Ecolab Share Your Personal Information?

When applying for a job with Ecolab, access to your personal information will be limited to those persons necessary for consideration of your job application. In such cases, we require that these parties agree to protect the confidentiality of such information consistent with the terms of this Employee Privacy Notice as well as the public-facing Ecolab Privacy Notice and any internal privacy compliance standards, and the laws and regulations of the jurisdiction in which you live. Processing of your application may require your information be transferred to Ecolab individuals or groups outside your country of residence. If your personal information is transferred outside your country of residence, such transfer will be subject to your jurisdiction’s data privacy law and this Applicant Privacy Notice.

Parties receiving your information may include:

  • Our affiliates and related companies;
  • Business partners, contractors, and channel partners, which are not considered affiliated companies;
  • Third-party vendors or service providers providing crucial services and necessary to support your application;
  • Government agencies or other parties in response to legal process or other requests, where permitted by law;
  • With other persons or third parties with whom you have requested that we share information.

Except as described above, we will not share your personal information with other, third-party companies for their commercial or marketing use without your consent or except as part of a specific program or feature for which you have the ability to opt-in or opt-out.

In addition, we may release personal information: (i) to the extent we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with any applicable law; (ii) to enforce our rights and / or make or defend claims related to your application, protect ourselves against any liability, defend ourselves against any claims, protect the rights, property and personal safety of any person, or protect the public welfare; (iii) when disclosure is required to protect the security of other persons, consistent with applicable laws (iv) to respond to a court order, subpoena, search warrant, or other legal process, to the extent permitted and as restricted by law; (v) in the event that we go through a business transition, such as a merger, divestiture, acquisition, liquidation or sale of all or a portion of our assets; or (vi) for an additional purpose that is directly related to the original purpose for which the personal information was collected.

Ecolab will not share your personal information for commercial or marketing purposes without your express consent.


How Long Does Ecolab Retain Your Personal Information?

Ecolab will retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Applicant Privacy Notice and as allowable under or required by applicable law. You may inquire at any time regarding the length of retention for your personal information. If you are a job applicant whose application is not accepted, you may request that Ecolab delete your information, in which case Ecolab will not be able to keep you informed of future employment opportunities.


Notice to Residents of EEA and UK and Jurisdictions with Similar Laws

If you are located in an EEA country or the UK, please see this notice about your rights with respect to your personal data.


Notice to California Residents

If you are a California resident, please see this notice about your rights with respect to your personal information.


Notice to Brazil Residents

If you are a resident of Brazil, please see this notice about your rights with respect to your personal information.


International Data Transfer

If you are located outside the United States, in particular if you are located in Canada, Brazil, the European Union (“EU”), the European Economic Area (“EEA”), New Zealand, the Republic of South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, or other countries with similar data privacy laws, please note that we and our servers are located in the United States. Any information that you provide to us may be transferred to and processed in the United States or other countries around the world where we do business. Although this may include recipients of information located in countries where there may be a lower level of legal protection for your personal information than in your country, we will make efforts to protect your information in accordance with requirements applicable to the law in your particular jurisdiction and take steps to only share with third parties that offer similar protection. By engaging with and providing personal information and other data that Ecolab may legitimately collect, process, use or transfer in connection with your relationship with Ecolab, you unambiguously consent to your information being collected, processed, used, and transferred as disclosed herein.


Data Privacy Framework Program

Ecolab complies with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (“EU-U.S. DPF”), the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF, and the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (“Swiss-U.S. DPF”) as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce (collectively, the “DPF Program”).

Ecolab has certified to the U.S. Department of Commerce that it adheres to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework Principles (“EU-U.S. DPF Principles”) when processing personal information received from the EU and UK. Ecolab has also certified to the U.S. Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework Principles (“Swiss-U.S. DPF Principles,” together with “EU-U.S. DPF Principles” are referred to as “Principles”) when processing personal information received from Switzerland. If there is any conflict between the terms in this Privacy Policy and the EU-U.S. DPF Principles (including the UK Extension) and/or the Swiss-U.S. DPF Principles, the Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Data Privacy Framework program, and to view our certification, please visit https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/. To view the complete list of participating organizations, please visit https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/s/participant-search. Under certain circumstances, Ecolab may remain liable for the acts of certain third parties if those third parties process PI originating from the EU, the UK, Gibraltar and/or Switzerland that Ecolab discloses to them in a manner that is inconsistent with the Principles.

If you have any inquiries or complaints about our handling of your personal information under the DPF, please contact us using the information in the "Contact Us" section below. If you still have a specific privacy concern that has not been resolved after attempting to address your privacy question or concern with Ecolab directly, Ecolab has committed to working with the panel established by the EU Data Protection Authorities (DPAs), the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) with regard to unresolved complaints concerning our handling of personal information received in reliance on the EU-U.S. DPF and the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF and the Swiss-U.S. DPF. As described in the DPF Program, individuals may have the option to select binding arbitration for the resolution of your complaint with respect to personal information originating in the EU, the UK, Gibraltar or Switzerland. Please visit the DPF Program website linked above for the most up-to-date information.

Ecolab is subject to the investigatory and enforcement authority of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for purposes of enforcing compliance with the DPF. Additionally, under limited circumstances, public authorities in the U.S., including but not limited to, the U.S. Federal Government, may make lawful requests of Ecolab to obtain certain personal information with which Ecolab must comply.

The following U.S. Ecolab affiliates also adhere to the DPF principles:

  • Abednego Environmental Services, LLC
  • Chemlink Laboratories, LLC
  • Ecolab (Guam) LLC
  • Ecolab Manufacturing Inc.
  • Ecolab Production LLC
  • Ecolab USA Inc.
  • Flottec, LLC
  • Nalco Company LLC
  • Nalco Contract Operations, LLC
  • Nalco Industrial Outsourcing Company
  • Nalco Production LLC
  • Nalco US 1 LLC
  • Nalco Wastewater Contract Operations LLC
  • Pest Management LLC
  • Quantum Technical Services, LLC
  • Wabasha Leasing LLC


Information Security, Data Integrity and Applicant Responsibility

Ecolab will take reasonable steps to protect your personal information in Ecolab’s possession and secure against risk of loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. We employ industry-standard security measures designed to protect the security of all information collected during the job applicant process. Ecolab periodically reviews its security measures in an effort to ensure the privacy of personal information. However, the security of information transmitted through the internet or via a mobile device can never be guaranteed. We are not responsible for any interception or interruption of any communications through the internet or for changes to or losses of data.

You are responsible for maintaining the security of any password, user ID or other form of authentication involved in obtaining access to password protected or secure areas of Ecolab’s systems to which you have been granted access. In order to protect you and your information, we may suspend your access to any Ecolab systems, without notice, pending an investigation, if any breach of security is suspected.

Ecolab will take reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is only used for the purposes for which it was collected as described in this Applicant Privacy Notice. Ecolab will take steps to ensure that personal information is relevant to its intended use, accurate, complete, and current. However, Ecolab relies upon you to assist in providing accurate updates to your personal information.


Changes to This Notice

Ecolab reserves the right to modify this Applicant Privacy Notice from time to time in order that it accurately reflects the regulatory environment and our data collection principles. When material changes are made to this Applicant Privacy Notice, Ecolab will provide you with the revised notice. This Applicant Privacy Notice was last modified as of November 2024.


Contact Us

If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Notice or the Service provided by Ecolab, please contact us at 844-880-8355 or dataprivacy@ecolab.com.