Can Your Employer Make You Disclose Your Social Media Passwords?

When you apply for a job, or even when you are already working for an employer, you probably expect there will be some investigation into your background. You’d expect to provide things like criminal background checks, drug tests, or credit checks.

But what if your employer or potential employer goes a step further: what if they want to see, and want access to, your social media accounts?

Your Social Media Accounts are Private

The good news for employees is that California strongly protects the privacy rights of workers—and that includes making it illegal for your employer to ask for or to require you to give access to your social media accounts or compelling you to provide any passwords.

A main reason why asking for passwords and social media access is prohibited, besides employee privacy, and the fact that it is expressly prohibited by California law, is that employers may be tempted to use access to social media, to discriminate against employees on the basis of their race, religion, sexuality, political beliefs, or any number of categories.

Note that this is a restriction on asking or requiring access, such as asking for a password. To the extent that your social media posts or information are public, and can be accessed by the world without a password, there is no restriction on employers looking at them and, in some cases, making hiring and firing decisions based on what you post.

No Retaliation

However, that comes with one caveat: employers often use what they see on social media, to retaliate against an employee. So, should you post something political, or even complaining about work, or making a commentary on a social issue, many employers will, illegally, punish employees or retaliate against them, for what they post.

Be Careful What You Post

One area where employees could be punished, or even sued, is when they use social media to publish defamatory information, or to disclose confidential information or trade secrets about their employer. In some cases, posts that could cause disruption at work could be punished (for example, organizing a non-union protest).

Company Owned Devices

Despite all these restrictions, there is one instance where an employer could, legally, access your social media accounts: in some cases, if you access social media via a company owned computer or device, the data on that device (which includes your password), could be accessed by the employer.

Remedies for Violations

If you feel that your social media has been accessed illegally without your permission, or that you have been asked to disclose your social media passwords, or punished because you refused to prove that information, you may have a cause of action against your employer.

You also have a right to sue, if you feel that you were retaliated against, because of information that was accessed by your employer on your social media accounts.

You also have the right to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

Don’t let your employer violate your privacy rights. Contact the San Jose employment lawyers at the Costanzo Law Firm today.

Sources:

hrcalifornia.calchamber.com/hr-library/privacy/social-media#:~:text=Employers%20are%20prohibited%20under%20California,their%20personal%20social%20media%20accounts.

hrcenter.us.brightmine.com/news/california-passes-law-prohibiting-employers-from-requesting-social-media-passwords-and-information/7966/