When a few brazen employers started asking job applicants for some very personal info, you knew it wouldn’t be long before legislation aimed at protecting prospective and current employees’ rights was introduced.
Well, that legislation has arrived.
The Password Protection Act of 2012 (PPA) has been introduced in both the House and the Senate in an effort to keep employers from requiring prospective – and current – employees to hand over personal info, such as passwords for social media sites like Facebook, Twitter
and LinkedIn.
The PPA would also keep employers from accessing info on any computer that isn’t owned or controlled by the employee.
That includes an array of things like private email accounts, smartphones and photo-sharing websites.
Companies that violate the PPA could be subject to financial penalties.
To view the full text of the proposed legislation, click:
We’ll keep you posted on the future of the bill.
In the meantime, weigh in: Do you think employers should be able to ask job candidates and current employees for their social media passwords?