What's happening
This bill prohibits most New York employers from requesting or requiring employees or job applicants to disclose passwords or access to personal online accounts.
Why it matters
Strengthens personal privacy and digital boundaries. By preventing employers from demanding access to private social media and personal online accounts, this bill ensures that employees and job candidates can keep their personal digital lives separate from their work lives, helping to protect sensitive or personal information from workplace scrutiny.
Protects against retaliation or discrimination. The bill makes it illegal for employers to discipline, penalize, or refuse to hire someone solely because they won’t hand over their passwords or private online information, reducing the risk of retaliatory or discriminatory practices based on personal online activity.
Clarifies employer rights for business-related accounts and devices. While protecting personal privacy, the bill still allows employers to request access to business-related accounts and devices (with proper notice and consent), and to monitor or restrict access on employer-provided devices, maintaining necessary workplace controls and cybersecurity.
Includes exceptions for compliance and law enforcement. Employers remain permitted to comply with court orders or legal requirements for account access, and the law doesn't apply to law enforcement, fire departments, or corrections agencies, balancing privacy interests with public safety and regulatory obligations.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Bosses From Social Media Snooping
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to labor
- Print number 5544a
- Amend (t) and recommit to labor
- Referred to labor
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Protect Employee Social Media
In Senate Committee · Rules · Sponsor Jeffrey Dinowitz
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5544--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 6, 2019
Introduced by Sens. RAMOS, JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to prohibiting an employer from requesting or requiring that an employee or applicant disclose any user name, password, or other means for accessing a personal account through specified electronic communications devices
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 201-h to read as follows:
§ 201-h. Request for access to personal accounts prohibited. 1. For purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Applicant" means an applicant for employment.
(b) "Electronic communications device" means any device that uses electronic signals to create, transmit, and receive information, including, but not limited to computers, telephones, personal digital assistants and other similar devices.
(c) "Employer" means (i) a person or entity engaged in a business, industry, profession, trade or other enterprise in the state; or (ii) a unit of state or local government; and (iii) shall include an agent, representative or designee of the employer.
(d) "Personal account" means an account or profile on an electronic medium where users may create, share, and view user-generated content, including uploading or downloading videos or still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant messages, or Internet Web site profiles or locations that is used by an employee or an applicant exclusively for personal purposes.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01244-03-9
S. 5544--A 2
2. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, it shall be unlawful for any employer to request, require or coerce any employee or applicant for employment to:
(i) disclose any user name and password, password, or other authentication information for accessing a personal account through an electronic communications device;
(ii) access the employee's or applicant's personal account in the presence of the employer;
(iii) reproduce in any manner photographs, video, or other information contained within a personal account.
(b) An employer may require an employee to disclose any user name, password or other means for accessing nonpersonal accounts that provide access to the employer's internal computer or information systems.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "access" shall not include an employee or applicant voluntarily adding an employer or employment agency to their list of contacts associated with a personal internet account.
3. An employer may not:
(a) Discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize or threaten to discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize an employee for an employee's refusal to disclose any information specified in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this section; or
(b) Fail or refuse to hire any applicant as a result of the applicant's refusal to disclose any information specified in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this section.
4. It shall be an affirmative defense to an action under this section that the employer acted to comply with requirements of a federal, state or local law.
5. (a) Nothing in this section shall prohibit an employer from:
(i) requesting or requiring an employee to disclose access information to an account provided by the employer where such account is used for business purposes and the employee was provided prior notice of the employer's right to request or require such access information;
(ii) requesting or requiring an employee to disclose access information to an account known to an employer to be used for business purposes;
(iii) accessing an electronic communications device paid for in whole or in part by the employer where the provision of or payment for such electronic communications device was conditioned on the employer's right to access such device and the employee was provided prior notice of and explicitly agreed to such conditions. However, nothing in this subparagraph shall permit an employer to access any personal accounts on such device;
(iv) complying with a court order in obtaining or providing information from, or access to, an employee's accounts as such court order may require;
(v) restricting or prohibiting an employee's access to certain websites while using an employer's network or while using an electronic communications device paid for in whole or part by the employer where the provision of or payment for such electronic communications device was conditioned on the employer's right to restrict such access and the employee was provided prior notice of and explicitly agreed to such conditions.
(b) This section does not prohibit or restrict an employer from complying with a duty to screen employees or applicants prior to hiring or to monitor or retain employee communications that is established
S. 5544--A 3
under federal law or by a self regulatory organization, as defined in section 3(a)(26) of the securities and exchange act of 1934, 15 USC §78c(a)(26).
(c) This section does not prohibit or restrict an employer from viewing, accessing, or utilizing information about an employee or applicant that can be obtained without any required access information or that is available in the public domain.
6. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any law enforcement agency, a fire department or a department of corrections and community supervision.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to prohib- iting an employer from requesting or requiring that an employee or applicant disclose any user name, password, or other means for accessing a personal account through specified electronic communications devices
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill would prohibit employers from requesting or requiring user name and login information including passwords as a condition of hiring, employment status, for use in disciplinary actions.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 amends the labor law by adding a new section, 201-h that would prohibit employers from requesting or requiring access to personal elec- tronic communication accounts of prospective or current employees. This section also allows for specific exemptions to the law when employers would be allowed to request the information.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
Justification
Employers are beginning to use various types of new tools in decisions dealing with the hiring and disciplinary actions regarding prospective and current employees. Recently, there have been reports of employers demanding login information, including username and password information to popular social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter as well as login information to email accounts and other extremely personal accounts. This information is being used as a condition of hiring, as well as promotions, lateral movement within companies and in matters relating to disciplinary action including, but not limited to, firing of individuals.
This type of request can lead to issues of unfair and discriminatory hiring and admissions practices and constitutes a serious invasion of privacy on the behalf of the employer. Employees have the right to make this information either public or private through the websites and they should have every right to maintain this privacy when it comes their work place or during an interview or admissions process. In these economic times many people do not have the option to walk away from a job and are forced to submit to this request for fear they will not be hired otherwise. This bill would remedy this issue and leave consumers with their right to privacy and reduce the risk of unfair and discrimi- natory hiring.
Prior legislative history
2017-18- A.5485 - Third Reading Calendar/S.1573A - Referred to Labor 2015-16- A.4388 - Advanced to Third Reading Calendar/ S.6871- Referred to Labor 2013-14- A.443-D - Passed Assembly/S.2434-D- Advanced to Third Reading Cal. 2011-12- A.9654- Passed Assembly/S.6831- Referred to Labor
Fiscal implications
None to the State.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the 180th day after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.