HB1047eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB1047 Engrossed LRB098 04224 JLS 34249 b

AN ACT concerning employment.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act is amended by changing Section 10 as follows:

(820 ILCS 55/10) (from Ch. 48, par. 2860)

Sec. 10. Prohibited inquiries.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any employer to inquire, in a written application or in any other manner, of any prospective employee or of the prospective employee's previous employers, whether that prospective employee has ever filed a claim for benefits under the Workers' Compensation Act or Workers' Occupational Diseases Act or received benefits under these Acts.

(b)(1) It shall be unlawful for any employer to request or require any employee or prospective employee to provide any user name and password, password, or other means of authentication related account information in order to gain access to the employee's or prospective employee's account or profile on a social networking website or to demand access in any manner to an employee's or prospective employee's personal internet account or profile on a social networking website.

(2) An employer may request or require an employee to disclose any user name and password, password, or other means of authentication for accessing any accounts or services provided by the employer or by virtue of the employee's employment relationship with the employer or that the employee uses for business purposes.

(3) An employer may not:

(A) discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize or threaten to discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize an employee for an employee's refusal to disclose any information specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection (b);

(B) fail or refuse to hire any prospective employee as a result of the prospective employee's refusal to disclose any information specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection (b); or

(C) be held liable for failing to request or require that an employee or prospective employee disclose any information specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection (b).

(4) Nothing in this subsection shall prevent an employer from conducting an investigation:

(A) for the purpose of ensuring or investigating past compliance with applicable laws, regulatory requirements, or prohibitions against work-related employee misconduct if the employer has specific information about activity in a personal internet account by an employee or other source;

(B) for the purpose of investigating violations of applicable laws, regulatory requirements, or prohibitions against work-related employee misconduct if the employer has specific information about activity in a personal internet account by an employee;

(C) for the purpose of protecting the security or integrity of the employer's computers, devices, networks, or data if the employer has specific information about activity in or through the personal internet account of an employee that has compromised or may compromise the security or integrity of the employer's computers, devices, networks, or data; or

(D) if the employer has specific information about the unauthorized transfer of an employer's proprietary information, confidential information, or financial data to a personal internet account of an employee or someone acting in concert with an employee.

Conducting an investigation as specified in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of this paragraph (4) may include requiring the employee's cooperation to share information relevant to making a factual determination concerning the matter being investigated including, if relevant, access and information pertaining to the employee's personal internet accounts.

(5) (2) Nothing in this subsection shall limit an employer's right to:

(A) promulgate and maintain lawful workplace policies governing the use of the employer's electronic equipment, including policies regarding Internet use, social networking site use, and electronic mail use; and

(B) monitor, or require an employee's consent to monitor, usage of the employer's computers, devices, network, or data; provided, however, that while engaging in such monitoring, an employer may not request or require any employee or prospective employee to access the employee's or prospective employee's personal internet account for purposes of enabling the employer to observe activity in or the contents of such an account; and provided further that an employer undertaking such monitoring may not request or require electronic equipment and the employer's electronic mail without requesting or requiring any employee or prospective employee to provide any user name and password, password, or other means of authentication related account information in order to gain access to the employee's or prospective employee's personal internet account; and or profile on a social networking website.

(C) take such actions as may be necessary to comply with the requirements of State or Federal statutes, rules or regulations, case law, or rules of self-regulatory organizations.

(6) (3) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit an employer from obtaining about a prospective employee or an employee information that is in the public domain or that is otherwise obtained in compliance with this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.

(7) (4) For the purposes of this subsection: ,

(A) "Prospective employee" means an applicant for employment.

(B) "Employer" means a person engaged in a business, industry, profession, trade, or other enterprise in this State, or any unit of State or local government. "Employer" includes any agent, representative, or designee of the employer.

(C) "Personal internet account" means an account created via bounded system established by an internet-based service that requires a user to input or store access information via an electronic device to view, create, utilize, or edit the user's account information, profile, display, communications, or stored data. "Personal internet account" does not include an account provided by the employer, obtained by virtue of the employee's employment relationship with the employer, or used for the employer's business purposes.

"social networking website" means an Internet-based service that allows individuals to:

(A) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, created by the service;

(B) create a list of other users with whom they share a connection within the system; and

(C) view and navigate their list of connections and those made by others within the system.

"Social networking website" shall not include electronic mail.

(Source: P.A. 97-875, eff. 1-1-13.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.