Hey Lumbergh, You Don’t Own My Facebook Account: Maryland Passes Legislation To Protect Employee’s Social Media Accounts

Recently the legality of requiring prospective hires to hand over social networking usernames and passwords received national attention when New York Sen. Charles Schumer and Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether the practice violates federal laws. Although federal legislation has yet to be passed, state legislatures have begun to address the issue.

This month, Maryland will become the first state to pass a law on the practice. Two identical bills, S.B. 433 and H.B. 964, were passed by the State legislature on Monday, and are now headed to Governor Martin O’Malley, who is likely to sign the legislation into law. Under this legislation, which will take effect on October 1, 2012, employers and their agents or representatives are prohibited from requiring workers and job applicants to “disclose any user name, password, or other means for accessing a personal account or service” electronically. In addition, employers are prohibited from refusing to hire an applicant for not providing access to such information. Similarly, employers are not permitted to terminate or discipline an employee for refusing to provide such information. 

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