Montana to Join Growing List of States Limiting Access to Social Media?
Legislators in Montana gave final approval to H.B. 342, which would limit an employer’s ability to access the personal social media accounts of applicants and employees. The bill now goes to Governor Steve Bullock’s office. If signed, Montana would become the most recent state to join the list of 19 states, which limit an employer’s access to personal social media accounts. Notably, the proposed Montana law would permit employers to request login credentials when the employer has specific information about the employee’s activity that indicates work-related employee misconduct, criminal defamation or the unauthorized transfer by the employee of the employer’s proprietary or confidential information, trade secrets, financial data.
W. Barry Nixon is the COO, PreemploymentDirectory.com the leading background screening information portal and online worldwide directory of professional background screening firms and Suppliers to the background screening industry. He co-authored the landmark book, Background Screening & Investigations: Managing Hiring Risk from the HR and Security Perspective. He also is the publisher of award winning newsletters, The Background Buzz and The Global Background Screener, and the author of the Background Checks column in PI Magazine.
In addition, Barry is a past recipient of the elite ‘Top 25 Influential People in Security’ by Security Magazine and past Co-Chair, International Committee for the National Association for Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). He currently serves as a Global Ambassador for NAPBS.
You can contact Barry at 1-949-770-5264 or online at wbnixon@preemploymentdirectory.com