Rhode Island Joins Growing Number of States With Social Media Privacy Laws

Author: Beth P. Zoller, XpertHR Legal Editor

August 12, 2014

Rhode Island has passed legislation protecting the social media privacy of employees and applicants. Based on this development, Rhode Island employers should revise their social media policies and make sure that their hiring and interviewing practices comply with applicable law.

The 2014 Student and Employee Social Media Privacy Acts, (S. 2095Aaa and H. 7124Aaa), signed on June 30 and effective upon signing, prohibit Rhode Island employers from requiring an employee or applicant to:

  • Disclose his or her password or provide access to a personal account;
  • "Friend" the employer or otherwise add it as a contact; or
  • Alter his or her privacy settings in a way that would alter a third party's ability to view the information.

The new laws also prohibit an employer from penalizing an employee or refusing to hire an applicant based on his or her refusal to provide access to a personal social media account.

"[M]ost employers will have trouble complying with the laws' prohibitions regarding 'forced' or 'pressured' social media connections, such as Facebook friend requests, access to protected Twitter accounts, and the like," said Brian J. Lamoureux, a partner at Pannone Lopes Devereaux & West LLC's Providence, Rhode Island office. "Employers will have to work hard to train their managers and supervisors to tread carefully when interacting with their colleagues and subordinates on these social media platforms."

The law permits an employer to require an employee to divulge information in connection with a personal social media account when such information is relevant to an investigation of employee misconduct or a workplace-related violation of laws and regulations, with certain limitations. Further, the law does not apply to publicly available information, nor does it prohibit or restrict an employer from complying with a duty to screen employees or applicants or to monitor or retain employee communications under federal and state laws and regulations.

Lamoureux anticipates that "the exception for 'publicly available' information will lead to litigation, because the term 'publicly available' isn't defined. With all of the varying shades of privacy settings across social media sites, only time will tell."

A Rhode Island employer violating these laws may be subject to a civil action brought by an employee or applicant. A court may award the employee or applicant declaratory relief, damages and reasonable attorney fees and costs.

With more than 15 states having already passed social media privacy laws and legislation proposed in many others, the Rhode Island laws represent the latest development in a national trend to protect the privacy rights of employees and applicants. Most recently, Oklahoma and Tennessee passed such laws.