Virginia Limits Employer Access to Social Media Accounts of Employees and Applicants
Effective July 1, 2015, employers in Virginia will be prohibited from requiring, requesting, or causing a current or prospective employee to disclose the username and password to the individual’s social media account. The new law also prohibits employers from requiring an employee to add another employee, a supervisor, or an administrator to the list or contacts associated with the individual’s social media account or changing the privacy settings. An employer taking or threatening to discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize any employee in retaliation for his or her refusal to comply with a request or demand that violates the new law is in violation of the law. Failing or refusing to hire a prospective employee for exercising his statutory rights also is a violation.
Read more
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