The list of states that have enacted laws prohibiting employers from accessing applicants’ and employees’ private social media sites keeps growing, and Nevada is the latest addition. This past summer, Governor Brian Sandoval signed Assembly Bill 181 into law. Section 2 of the law makes it unlawful for an employer to: “Directly or indirectly, require, request, suggest or cause any employee or prospective employee to disclose the user name, password or any other information that provides access to his or her personal social media account.” Section 2 also makes it unlawful for an employer to “Discharge, discipline, discriminate against in any manner or deny employment or promotion to, or threaten to take any such action against any employee or prospective employee who refuses, declines or fails to disclose the user name, password or any other information that provides access to his or her personal social media account.”
Assembly Bill 181 further prohibits employers from taking certain negative employment actions against employees and applicants who refuse to submit consumer credit reports or credit information. Nevada is now the 11th state to pass a social media employment privacy law and the 10th state to prohibit employers from using credit information for employment purposes.
The law becomes effective on October 1, 2013. Additional information about the bill can be found here.