Beginning October 15, 2015, all public and private employers in Maine must comply with the state’s new Social Media Privacy Law. Under the legislation, Maine employers are prohibited from asking or requiring job applicants or current employees to disclose password information to social media accounts. Nor can employers retaliate or discriminate against an individual for refusing to disclose personal social media information.
The Maine law defines social media as, “an account with an electronic medium or service through which users create, share and view user-generated content including but not limited to videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, e-mail, online service accounts and Internet website profiles and locations.”
Exceptions to the law include:
• Employers can require employees to reveal user names and passwords to access non-personal internet accounts that apply to the employer’s internal information or computer systems.
• Employers are permitted to access employee or job applicant information that is available publicly and; in the event of an investigation of possible misconduct.
Employees or applicants who feel their rights were violated under the law can bring a civil action towards the employer to seek injunctive relief, damages, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
We recommend that Maine employers start preparing for the October 15, 2015 deadline. You should review and update your hiring and recruiting policies and procedures to comply with the new law, and train all hiring personnel on the new provisions.
Click here to read the full text of the law.