New Oregon Law Bars Employers from Requesting or Requiring Employees or Applicants to Disclose Social Media Login Information | Practical Law

New Oregon Law Bars Employers from Requesting or Requiring Employees or Applicants to Disclose Social Media Login Information | Practical Law

Oregon recently enacted House Bill 2654, which prohibits an employer from requesting, compelling or otherwise coercing an employee or applicant to disclose login information associated with a personal social media account.

New Oregon Law Bars Employers from Requesting or Requiring Employees or Applicants to Disclose Social Media Login Information

by PLC Labor & Employment
Published on 03 Jun 2013 • Oregon
Oregon recently enacted House Bill 2654, which prohibits an employer from requesting, compelling or otherwise coercing an employee or applicant to disclose login information associated with a personal social media account.
On May 22, 2013, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber signed into law House Bill 2654, which prohibits an employer from requesting or requiring an employee or applicant to provide login information or access to the individual's personal social media account, among other things.
However, employers may still:
  • Obtain information about a social media account provided by, or on behalf of, the employer.
  • Conduct certain investigations relating to social media accounts.
  • Access information available to the public about the employee or applicant.
In addition, an employer that inadvertently receives authentication information for an employee is not liable for having the information, but the employer may not use the information to access the employee's personal social media account.
Oregon is the tenth state to enact a law prohibiting private employers from asking for access to social media accounts, joining Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Utah and Washington.
For more information on state laws addressing employer access to current and prospective employees' social media accounts, see Practice Note, Employer Access to Social Media Accounts State Laws: Overview.