Employee privacy and Internet Social Media

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Employee privacy and Internet Social Media
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB1844
California’s Governor Edmund G. Brown has signed into law abill that prohibits an employer from requiring or requesting an employee orapplicant for employment to disclose a username or password for the purpose ofaccessing personal social media, to access personal social media in thepresence of the employer, or to divulge any personal social media.
The law also prohibits an employer from discharging,disciplining, threatening to discharge or discipline, or otherwise retaliatingagainst an employee or applicant for not complying with a request or demand bythe employer that violates these provisions.
The new law provides as follows:
California Labor CodeCHAPTER  2.5. EmployerUse of Social Media
§980.
 (a) As used in this chapter, “social media” meansan electronic service or account, or electronic content, including, but notlimited to, videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instantand text messages, email, online services or accounts, or Internet Web siteprofiles or locations.
(b) An employer shall not require or request anemployee or applicant for employment to do any of the following:
(1) Disclose a username or password for the purpose ofaccessing personal social media.
(2) Access personal social media in the presence of theemployer.
(3) Divulge any personal social media, except asprovided in subdivision (c).
(c) Nothing in this section shall affect an employer’sexisting rights and obligations to request an employee to divulge personalsocial media reasonably believed to be relevant to an investigation ofallegations of employee misconduct or employee violation of applicable laws andregulations, provided that the social media is used solely for purposes of thatinvestigation or a related proceeding.
(d) Nothing in this section precludes an employer fromrequiring or requesting an employee to disclose a username, password, or othermethod for the purpose of accessing an employer-issued electronic device.

(e) An employer shall not discharge,discipline, threaten to discharge or discipline, or otherwise retaliate againstan employee or applicant for not complying with a request or demand by theemployer that violates this section. However, this section does not prohibit anemployer from terminating or otherwise taking an adverse action against anemployee or applicant if otherwise permitted by law.