As we have previously reported, a growing list of jurisdictions have enacted social media privacy laws applicable to employers. The most recent state to join the list is Maine, which brings the total to 22 states having enacted similar measures.
Under Maine’s law, an employer may not:
Earlier this month, legislators in Montana gave final approval to H.B. 342 which would limit an employer’s ability to access the personal social media accounts of applicants and employees. The bill now goes to Governor Steve Bullock’s (D) office for consideration.
If signed, Montana would join become the most recent state to join the list
Recently, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) signed a bill that limits employer access to the personal social media accounts of employees and job applicants. The law, which takes effect on July 1, 2015 prohibits employers in Virginia from requiring, requesting, or causing a current or prospective employee to disclose the username and password to the
As we previously reported, sending a “friend” request to access information on an individual’s Facebook page that is not publicly available may have serious ethical implications. Specifically, the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics (OAE) alleges John Robertelli and Gabriel Adamo violated the Rules of Professional Conduct, including those governing communications with represented parties,
In honor of National Data Privacy Day, we provide the following “Top 15 for 2015.” While the list is by no means exhaustive, it does provide some hot topics for businesses to consider in 2015.
The National Labor Relations Board has found that another employer (a non-union employer) violated its employees’ protected concerted activity rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it disciplined and fired them for certain social media activity. Our Labor Group provides an extensive analysis of this decision in Triple Play Sports Bar and Grille
Effective September 30, 2014, New Hampshire joins sixteen other states (Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin) in prohibiting employers from requiring employees or job applicants to disclose their login information for accessing any “personal account” or service through an electronic communication device.
As previously reported, in a March 2014 filing titled H.W. v. Sterling High School District, a New Jersey high school student filed suit claiming school officials had violated her constitutional rights when they punished her for content she posted on Twitter which criticized Sterling High School’s principal.
The settlement, which was approved by
As reported by ESPN, Jimmy Graham‘s Twitter bio could play a crucial role in the National Football League (“NFL”) arbitration hearing between the New Orleans Saints and Graham.
For those unfamiliar with the story, the New Orleans Saints placed a tight-end franchise tag on Graham. Under the tag, Graham must be offered a
Add Oklahoma to the list of states prohibiting employers from requesting or demanding access to the personal social media accounts of employees or applicants. Signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin, H.B. 2372 becomes effective November 1, 2014.
In addition to being prohibited from requesting or demanding usernames or passwords from employees or applicants to