(a) Each employer shall obtain and retain employment applications in a secure manner and shall employ reasonable measures to destroy or make unreadable such employment applications upon disposal. Such measures shall, at a minimum, include the shredding or other means of permanent destruction of such employment applications in a secure setting. For purposes of this section, “employer” has the meaning provided in § 31-128a.

(b) Any person or entity that violates the provisions of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of five hundred dollars for each violation, provided such civil penalty shall not exceed five hundred thousand dollars for any single event.

(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any agency or political subdivision of the state.

(d) Any civil penalties received pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the privacy protection guaranty and enforcement account established pursuant to § 42-472a.