May 11 2015 Social Media And Employee Privacy
Social media provides a method for sharing personal information such as photos and opinions with friends. When personal posts are public, they may be viewed by potential employers during the hiring process.
New digital-privacy laws are currently in effect in approximately 14 states in the U.S. These laws prevent employers from requiring current or prospective employees having to provide access to their postings on social media sites.
Twenty states including New York, are considering similar measures in order to protect employee privacy.
New laws would prevent employers from requesting social media passwords, changing privacy settings or friend requests in order to examine personal information that is not open to public view. Violations could lead to individual lawsuits as well as fines. Public postings on social media as well as monitoring of employer owned computers would still be open to scrutiny by employers and may be necessary when investigating allegations of employee misconduct.
There are legal issues when asking an employee or potential hire’s personal information concerning health, religious beliefs or political preferences. Digital-laws are being expanded across the nation in order to protect personal privacy. Read more about this at:
http://www.pressherald.com/business/city-may-ban-social-media-checks-by-employers_2013-09-26.html 
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