Senate bill would prohibit employers from demanding access to applicants’ social media accounts
By Jenna Belhumeur
June 7, 2012 1:21 a.m.
A bill that was passed in the California Senate could prevent employers and schools from looking at applicants’ social media accounts during the application process.
Senate Bill 1349, authored by Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), would prohibit postsecondary schools and employers from asking students, job applicants and employees to provide their usernames and passwords for personal accounts.
The proposal comes at a time when employers and schools are increasingly using social media to screen applicants, said Adam Keigwin, Yee’s chief of staff.
Earlier this year, the Associated Press released a report about employers who demand access to job applicants’ social networking sites during the application process, which prompted requests for an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department.
The reports partly led to the introduction of the bill, Keigwin said.
He said Yee hopes the bill will prevent social media screening from becoming a trend in California.
UCLA does not ask for password or usernames in their recruitment practices, according to Daily Bruin archives.
It can be a problem for employers and schools to use social networking sites because it potentially violates equal opportunity laws, Keigwin said.
Equal opportunity laws prohibit institutions from discriminating against applicants based on information, such as religion, sexual orientation or marital status, that is often posted on social networking sites, he said.
“Employers and colleges are actually putting themselves into a liability situation that I don’t think they want to be in by getting this information,” Keigwin said.
Larry Venus, a spokesman for Sen. Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) who voted against the bill, said Dutton does not think employers should be able to access applicants’ social networking accounts for hiring purposes, except for special circumstances.
“Our perception is that the bill would prohibit employers from investigating legitimate accusations of harassment by supervisors and coworkers on social networking sites,” Venus said.
Venus said Dutton would support the bill if it was adjusted to include exceptions for situations, such as sexual harassment investigations.
“If the language is a little tighter to ensure that legitimate investigations can move forward, I know Senator Dutton will support the bill, and I suspect most of the other senators who were in opposition will too,” Venus said.
Some students are also treading cautiously when using social media because of the potential for future employers and graduate schools to see information.
Erin Roodhuyzen, a third-year communication studies student, said she thinks employers and schools should not ask for passwords to private accounts of their employees or students, but that students should still be careful about what information they make available online.
“In most employment screening processes, I think it’s become the norm to do a Google search on the applicant,” she said. “Obviously employers are going to utilize the Internet (to find) out who exactly they are hiring.”
Roodhuyzen said many of her friends who are applying to graduate schools have changed their last names on Facebook to prevent admission officers from finding their profiles.
The bill will now proceed to the Assembly, where its details can be modified.
If altered, it will return to the Senate for a final vote before it can be signed into law by the governor.
Keigwin said the bill has received overwhelming bipartisan support thus far, which could keep it from getting rejected.
