New Jersey has become the 12th state to forbid employers from seeking access to employees' or job applicants' social media login credentials. It also establishes penalties for retaliation based upon an employee's or applicant's refusal to provide such information.
Employers are still free, however, to avail themselves of access to the public side of anyone's social media account on Facebook, Twitter or elsewhere.
Gov. Chris Christie signed the bill into law on Aug. 29 after vetoing an earlier version in May that forbade emlpoyers from even asking if an applicant or employee had a social media account, a limit to which no other state has yet gone.
The bill permits businesses to regulate use of company-issued electronic devices and company-run social media accounts.