California Gov. Jerry Brown signed two bills into law on Thursday that keep employers or universities from demanding access passwords to Facebook or Twitter accounts.
AB 1844, Campos. Employer use of social media.
Existing law generally regulates the conduct of employers in the state.
This bill would prohibit an employer from requiring or requesting an employee or applicant for employment to disclose a username or password for the purpose of accessing personal social media, to access personal social media in the presence of the employer, or to divulge any personal social media. This bill would also prohibit an employer from discharging, disciplining, threatening to discharge or discipline, or otherwise retaliating against an employee or applicant for not complying with a request or demand by the employer that violates these provisions.
Under existing law, the Labor Commissioner, who is the Chief of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations, is required to establish and maintain a field enforcement unit to investigate specified violations of the Labor Code and other labor laws and to enforce minimum labor standards. Existing law authorizes, and under specified circumstances requires, the Labor Commissioner to investigate employee complaints of violations of the Labor Code, provide for a hearing, and determine all matters arising under his or her jurisdiction.
This bill would provide that the Labor Commissioner is not required to investigate or determine any violation of a provision of this bill.