If a bill making its way through the New Jersey legislature becomes law, New Jersey employers will no longer have the ability to require employees and job candidates to disclose any usernames and passwords associated with personal accounts on social networking sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
On Oct. 25, the New Jersey Senate passed Bill A2878, which limits an employer’s ability to access private social media sites. If Gov. Christie signs the measure, New Jersey will become the fourth state to pass a social network privacy law, following Maryland, Illinois and California. Notably, the New Jersey bill goes the farthest in protecting individuals from company intrusion because it prohibits an employer from even asking whether an employee or applicant has a personal social networking account.
