More than one billion people worldwide have registered accounts with Facebook. People display personal information, pictures, and videos for friends, family, and even strangers to view. Many employers use publicly available Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other social media outlets as screening tools for job applicants. And they may also use them as a way to monitor employees. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.
A handful of employers, however, have pushed their due diligence even further than standard Internet searches. For example in 2006, Fox News reported that a sheriff’s office in McLean County, Illinois, asked a job applicant to sign into his social media account during an interview. In 2009, ABC News reported that the city offices of Bozeman, Montana, required all applicants to provide their login information to social media websites. More recently in 2012, the Associated Press ran a story about an employer who asked an applicant to turn over his social media password during an interview.
These stories generated countless headlines, and the media attention triggered responses from employers, lawyers, and legislators across the nation. Despite the relentless attention the public has given the topic, reported instances of employers that have requested such information can be counted on two hands.
SOCIAL MEDIA PRIVACY LAWS
To date, 13 states have enacted laws that prohibit employers from requesting job applicants’ and/or employees’ passwords to their social media accounts. These bills attracted broad, bipartisan support. Thirty-six additional states have introduced similar legislation, or have legislation pending.
Federal legislation is also pending. The Social Networking Online Protection Act, introduced by Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY), calls for a nationwide ban on the practice of requesting access to employees’ and applicants’ personal accounts. Additionally, the Password Protection Act, introduced by Representative Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), would “prohibit employers from taking adverse actions against employees for refusing to disclose such passwords and [make] employees . . . eligible to receive compensatory damages and injunctive relief” in case of violations.
