Illinois has proposed legislation that would make it illegal for employers to request prospective employees to turn over access to their social media accounts.
It has been commonplace for employers to research prospective employees social media accounts as part of the job screening process. However, because privacy settings can be set, some employers have now begun asking employees to turn over passwords to the employees” social media accounts.
The legislation provides a safeguard for those employees who would be too afraid to tell an employer no out of fear of being fired or not even considered for the job.
However, the executive director of the Employment Law Council for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, believes exceptions need to be made, including positions in law enforcement or those that require a higher level of security.
Moving forward the legislation will have to clearly define social networking sites and clarify for employers that they could still use information obtained from the public domain.
What do you think? Would you turn over your password?
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