The United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama recently held in Bruce v. McDonald that the “mere access” of an e-mail account and subsequent printing/possession of e-mails from the same account did not constitute an “interception” in violation of the federal Wiretap Act.
Under the Wiretap Act, as amended by the
The Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District quashed an order requiring the mother of a vehicle accident victim to produce copies of certain postings on her Facebook account. 
In Root v. Balfour Beatty Constr., LLC, the plaintiff, Tonia Root (“plaintiff”) filed a negligence suit against the city and its contractors following an accident
A New Jersey Appellate Court recently ruled that an employee who removes or copies her employer’s documents for use in her whistleblower or discrimination case may be prosecuted criminally for stealing. In State v. Saavedra, the employee had taken highly confidential original documents owned by her employer, contending that she did so to support
In honor of National Data Privacy Day, we provide the following “Top 14 for 2014.” While the list is by no means exhaustive, it does provide critical areas businesses will need to consider in 2014.
In a recent consent order, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs settled an investigation involving Dokogeo, Inc., a California based mobile application developer.
Under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) websites and online services which collect information from children younger than 13 are subject to certain parental notice and consent requirements.
In
The New York Times published an interesting front page article by Somini Sengupta on October 31, 2013 about the growing trend of state legislative action on privacy issues, noting that over two dozen privacy laws have passed this year in more than 10 states. The piece also notes that the “patchwork of rules across the country” is
As we have previously anticipated, yesterday New Jersey joined the multitude of other states which have enacted laws limiting employer access to employee social media accounts.
The law prohibits employers from requesting or requiring a current or prospective employee to provide or disclose any user name or password, or in any way provide the employer access to, a personal account. 
Additionally, the law goes on to prohibit employers from requiring an individual to waive or limit any protection granted under the law as a condition of applying for or receiving an offer of employment. Specifically, the law states that an agreement to waive any right or protection is against the public policy of New Jersey and is void and unenforceable.
The law also prohibits employer retaliation or discrimination against an individual because the individual: refuses to provide or disclose any user name or password, or in any way provide access to, a personal account; reports an alleged violation to the Commission of Labor and Workforce Development; testifies, assists, or participates in an investigation, proceeding, or action concerning a violation of the law; or otherwise opposes a violation of the law.
Notably, the law permits the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development to collect civil penalties in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for the first violation and $2,500 for each subsequent violation.
Based on the Governor’s recommendations, the final law does not prevent an employer from implementing and enforcing a policy pertaining to the use of an employer issued electronic communications device or any accounts or services provided by the employer or that the employee uses for business purposes.
While the law prohibits certain employer activity, it does permit employers to conduct investigations regarding: work-related employee misconduct based on information about activity on social media; or an employee’s actions based on information about the unauthorized transfer of an employer’s proprietary, confidential, or financial information to social media. Logically, the law also does not prevent an employer from viewing, accessing, or utilizing information about a current or prospective employee that can be obtained in the public domain.
It appears that New Jersey is just the next in the line of states which will adopt similar provisions limiting employer access to an employee’s personal social media accounts. While it is difficult to say the impact the law will have, at a minimum, employers must begin to assess their own internal hiring and human resources practices to make sure they comply with this law.Continue Reading New Jersey Ban On Employer Access To Social Media Accounts
Former New York Yankee Lou Gehrig died 71 years ago from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, now known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Now some legislators in Minnesota want to make his medical records, maintained at the Mayo Clinic, public. A story in the Star Tribune raises the question of how long a patient’s personal health
Two New Jersey defense lawyers face attorney ethics charges in connection with the way they allegedly accessed Facebook. Regardless of how these charges are resolved, the facts in the case should serve as a reminder to attorneys to become more familiar with social media, and perhaps be more specific in the direction they give to
The District Court of New Jersey recently denied an employer’s motion to dismiss a former employee’s causes of action for invasion of privacy following a supervisor’s alleged unauthorized access to the employee’s Facebook account. 
In Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corp., the plaintiff, a registered nurse and paramedic, alleged that the defendants engaged in a