A recent news article reports that Maryland and now five other states (California, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware) have passed a law that makes it illegal for employers to ask employees for passwords to their social media accounts. In the absence of a statute, employers argue that that they are entitled to view their employee’s personal social media accounts. Lebau & Neuworth has addressed concerns related to social media and the workplace in its blog and reminded employees that it is not a good idea to send personal emails from a work email account because your employer would likely be entitled to view those emails and use them against you. We also reminded employees to be very careful about what you post on-line about your employers because that information also may be used against you and could be fatal to a case. Despite the new law, there may still be instances where your employer is entitled to password and username for a social media account, for example, a court order. In general, the best practice is to be extremely careful about your on-line postings and presence.
