Michigan recently joined a growing trend of states that have introduced legislation to prohibit employers from asking job applicants and current employees for passwords and other private account information for social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Specifically, State Rep. Aric Nesbitt (Republican) proposed legislation that applies to state and private employers. Mr.
Increasingly, employers are asking prospective or current employees to turn over their Facebook passwords in order to review their profiles.
In response to this increase some states, including California, Illinois, and Maryland, have proposed legislation to ban such conduct.
Facebook recently interjected its position on this topic when its Chief Privacy Officer, Erin Egan,
It is no secret that the NLRB has put employer’s social media policies and employee discipline discharges arising out of social media (a/k/a Facebook Firings) in its cross-hairs.
This fact was recently highlighted in another NLRB Press Release (9/7/11) where an administrative law judge found that a Buffalo nonprofit organization unlawfully discharged five
Peter Drucker noted that “The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong questions.”
Mr. Drucker’s advice is particularly appropriate when it comes to legal issues involving social media and employees. In this regard, there is no shortage of general