New Hampshire’s Senate voted unanimously to prohibit bosses from requiring employees or job applicants to disclose user names or passwords to personal Facebook, Twitter or other social media or email accounts. But the Republican-controlled chamber voted 13-11 along party lines to add an amendment on union contracts that could spell trouble when the bill goes back to the House to consider changes to the bill. The bill would apply the ban to the workers’ personal accounts unrelated to the employer’s business. The measure would not prohibit an employer from obtaining information in the public domain or prevent the employer from investigating whether the employee is complying with securities or financial laws based on the person’s personal website used for business purposes. Senate Democratic Leader Sylvia Larsen of Concord objected the added provision could doom the social media provisions. Allowing employers access to social media accounts also gives them access to others linked to the account, which could infringe on their privacy.
