On May 24, 2012, I posted about Illinois becoming the second state (after Maryland) to have its legislature pass a Facebook demand law, and summarized the content of the bill. Just last Wednesday, on August 1st, Illinois became the second state (again, after Maryland) to have its Governor sign that legislation.
Therefore, the new Illinois statute now prohibits employers in Illinois from requiring any current or prospective employee to provide a “password or other related account information” to gain access to a social networking site.
Employer Take Away: What should you as an employer take away from this development?
Even if you’re not running your company in Maryland or Illinois, keep watching and reading. This trend will most likely roll through your state soon.
Michael C. Schmidt is the vice chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Department, and the office managing partner, vice chair, of the New York Midtown office, where he is resident. For more than two decades, Mike has concentrated his practice on representing companies and management in all facets of employment law, such as: (i) defense in litigation involving wage and hour (overtime and unpaid compensation), discrimination, harassment, retaliation and whistle-blowing, non-competes and trade secrets, and disability and other leave-related issues; (ii) day-to-day counseling and in-house training on issues from hiring to firing, and other questions unique to his client’s industries and business; and (iii) drafting and reviewing employment agreements, termination and severance agreements, confidentiality and non-competes, and employment policies and manuals.
Social Media Employment Law Blog is devoted to the interplay between social media and employment law, an extremely topical and significant area of law for employers in this new technology era. Published and edited by 