The New York Governor signed a new law protecting employee privacy. The law starts on March 12, 2024, and stops employers from accessing employees' and applicants' social media accounts. It creates a stricter rule for employers and shows a proactive approach to digital privacy.
What Does the New Legislation Say?
The new legislation broadly defines personal accounts. These include any digital interaction spot, such as blogs, photos, videos, or immediate messaging profiles, used exclusively for personal reasons.
The law has clear objectives. It bans employers from requesting or coercing employees or applicants to disclose their personal accounts' usernames, passwords, or other access details. Browsing personal accounts in the employer's presence and reproducing personal content like photos or videos are strictly off-limits. In cases of compliance refusal, employers have no right to retaliate against an employee or job applicant.
Are There Any Exceptions?
The law is comprehensive but does possess a few exceptions. For example, employers are not barred from accessing the personal accounts of employees or applicants who voluntarily add them to their contacts.
Employers can rightfully ask for access details for accounts that aren't personal but offer access to the employer's internal computer or information systems. Conditions also permit employers' requisition for access information to an account provided by them for business purposes and accessing a device paid for by them, given the employee was informed about this right beforehand.
Despite these exceptions, the law bars employers from accessing personal accounts on devices they fund. Furthermore, employers are free to access or use information about an employee or applicant that is either in the public domain or obtained without access information. Employers are also not restricted from receiving information regarding a misconduct report or investigation.
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National Employee Online Privacy Safeguarding Measures
New York's new rule is part of broader efforts recently observed nationwide to protect employees' online privacy from overreach by employers. States including California, Connecticut, and Oregon likewise prohibit employers from asking employees to access their social media accounts in the employer's presence. New Hampshire, Maine, and Delaware laws prohibit employers from requiring employees to add the employer as a friend or to a group that provides access to concealed information. Anti-retaliation provisions, heavily embedded within most laws, including New York's new regulations, extend to employees who decline to share their personal social media accounts.
Enforcement Procedures
In New York, this law is enforced by the state Department of Labor's Division of Labor Standards. Notably, no private right of action is specified to enforce these provisions.
What's Next?
New York employers are advised to reevaluate their application processes and social media policies to secure compliance with the new law. The progressive legislation enforces the need for a demarcation between professional and personal lives in an era where social media blurs these lines. As we approach the date of effect, New York employers and employees should prepare to navigate the nuanced environment where professional and personal spaces on social media are effectively segregated.
