Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB4999
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Full Text of HB4999  99th General Assembly

HB4999enr 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
HB4999 EnrolledLRB099 17796 JLS 42158 b

1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Freedom From Location Surveillance Act is
5amended by changing Section 5 as follows:
 
6    (725 ILCS 168/5)
7    Sec. 5. Definitions. For the purpose of this Act:
8    "Basic subscriber information" means name, address, local
9and long distance telephone connection records or records of
10session time and durations; length of services, including start
11dates, and types of services utilized; telephone or instrument
12number or other subscriber number or identity, including any
13temporarily assigned network address; and the means and source
14of payment for the service, including the credit card or bank
15account number.
16    "Electronic device" means any device that enables access
17to, or use of:
18        (1) an electronic communication service that provides
19    the ability to send or receive wire or electronic
20    communications;
21        (2) a remote computing service that provides computer
22    storage or processing services by means of an electronic
23    communications system; or

 

 

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1        (3) a location information service such as a global
2    positioning service or other mapping, locational, or
3    directional information service.
4    "Electronic device" does not mean devices used by a
5governmental agency or by a company operating under a contract
6with a governmental agency for toll collection, traffic
7enforcement, or license plate reading.
8    "Law enforcement agency" means any agency of this State or
9a political subdivision of this State which is vested by law
10with the duty to maintain public order or enforce criminal
11laws.
12    "Location information" means any information concerning
13the location of an electronic device that, in whole or in part,
14is generated by or derived from the operation of that device.
15    "Social networking website" has the same meaning ascribed
16to the term in paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of Section 10 of
17the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act.
18(Source: P.A. 98-1104, eff. 8-26-14.)
 
19    Section 10. The Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act is
20amended by changing Section 10 as follows:
 
21    (820 ILCS 55/10)  (from Ch. 48, par. 2860)
22    Sec. 10. Prohibited inquiries; online activities.
23    (a) It shall be unlawful for any employer to inquire, in a
24written application or in any other manner, of any prospective

 

 

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1employee or of the prospective employee's previous employers,
2whether that prospective employee has ever filed a claim for
3benefits under the Workers' Compensation Act or Workers'
4Occupational Diseases Act or received benefits under these
5Acts.
6    (b)(1) Except as provided in this subsection, it shall be
7unlawful for any employer or prospective employer to:
8        (A) request, or require, or coerce any employee or
9    prospective employee to provide a user name and password or
10    any password or other related account information in order
11    to gain access to the employee's or prospective employee's
12    personal online account or profile on a social networking
13    website or to demand access in any manner to an employee's
14    or prospective employee's personal online account; or
15    profile on a social networking website.
16        (B) request, require, or coerce an employee or
17    applicant to authenticate or access a personal online
18    account in the presence of the employer;
19        (C) require or coerce an employee or applicant to
20    invite the employer to join a group affiliated with any
21    personal online account of the employee or applicant;
22        (D) require or coerce an employee or applicant to join
23    an online account established by the employer or add the
24    employer or an employment agency to the employee's or
25    applicant's list of contacts that enable the contacts to
26    access the employee or applicant's personal online

 

 

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1    account;
2        (E) discharge, discipline, discriminate against,
3    retaliate against, or otherwise penalize an employee for
4    (i) refusing or declining to provide the employer with a
5    user name and password, password, or any other
6    authentication means for accessing his or her personal
7    online account, (ii) refusing or declining to authenticate
8    or access a personal online account in the presence of the
9    employer, (iii) refusing to invite the employer to join a
10    group affiliated with any personal online account of the
11    employee, (iv) refusing to join an online account
12    established by the employer, or (v) filing or causing to be
13    filed any complaint, whether orally or in writing, with a
14    public or private body or court concerning the employer's
15    violation of this subsection; or
16        (F) fail or refuse to hire an applicant as a result of
17    his or her refusal to (i) provide the employer with a user
18    name and password, password, or any other authentication
19    means for accessing a personal online account, (ii)
20    authenticate or access a personal online account in the
21    presence of the employer, or (iii) invite the employer to
22    join a group affiliated with a personal online account of
23    the applicant.
24    (2) Nothing in this subsection shall limit an employer's
25right to:
26        (A) promulgate and maintain lawful workplace policies

 

 

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1    governing the use of the employer's electronic equipment,
2    including policies regarding Internet use, social
3    networking site use, and electronic mail use; or and
4        (B) monitor usage of the employer's electronic
5    equipment and the employer's electronic mail without
6    requesting or using requiring any employee or prospective
7    employee to provide any password or other related account
8    information in order to gain access to the employee's or
9    prospective employee's personal online account or profile
10    on a social networking website.
11    (3) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit an employer
12from:
13        (A) obtaining about a prospective employee or an
14    employee information that is in the public domain or that
15    is otherwise obtained in compliance with this amendatory
16    Act of the 97th General Assembly; .
17        (B) complying with State and federal laws, rules, and
18    regulations and the rules of self-regulatory organizations
19    created pursuant to federal or State law when applicable;
20        (C) requesting or requiring an employee or applicant to
21    share specific content that has been reported to the
22    employer, without requesting or requiring an employee or
23    applicant to provide a user name and password, password, or
24    other means of authentication that provides access to an
25    employee's or applicant's personal online account, for the
26    purpose of:

 

 

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1            (i) ensuring compliance with applicable laws or
2        regulatory requirements;
3            (ii) investigating an allegation, based on receipt
4        of specific information, of the unauthorized transfer
5        of an employer's proprietary or confidential
6        information or financial data to an employee or
7        applicant's personal account;
8            (iii) investigating an allegation, based on
9        receipt of specific information, of a violation of
10        applicable laws, regulatory requirements, or
11        prohibitions against work-related employee misconduct;
12            (iv) prohibiting an employee from using a personal
13        online account for business purposes; or
14            (v) prohibiting an employee or applicant from
15        accessing or operating a personal online account
16        during business hours, while on business property,
17        while using an electronic communication device
18        supplied by, or paid for by, the employer, or while
19        using the employer's network or resources, to the
20        extent permissible under applicable laws.
21    (4) If an employer inadvertently receives the username,
22password, or any other information that would enable the
23employer to gain access to the employee's or potential
24employee's personal online account through the use of an
25otherwise lawful technology that monitors the employer's
26network or employer-provided devices for network security or

 

 

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1data confidentiality purposes, then the employer is not liable
2for having that information, unless the employer:
3        (A) uses that information, or enables a third party to
4    use that information, to access the employee or potential
5    employee's personal online account; or
6        (B) after the employer becomes aware that such
7    information was received, does not delete the information
8    as soon as is reasonably practicable, unless that
9    information is being retained by the employer in connection
10    with an ongoing investigation of an actual or suspected
11    breach of computer, network, or data security. Where an
12    employer knows or, through reasonable efforts, should be
13    aware that its network monitoring technology is likely to
14    inadvertently to receive such information, the employer
15    shall make reasonable efforts to secure that information.
16    (5) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit or restrict
17an employer from complying with a duty to screen employees or
18applicants prior to hiring or to monitor or retain employee
19communications as required under Illinois insurance laws or
20federal law or by a self-regulatory organization as defined in
21Section 3(A)(26) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15
22U.S.C. 78(A)(26) provided (3.5) Provided that the password,
23account information, or access sought by the employer only
24relates to an online account that:
25        (A) an employer supplies or pays; or
26        (B) an employee creates or maintains on behalf of or

 

 

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1    under direction of an employer in connection with that
2    employee's employment. a professional account, and not a
3    personal account, nothing in this subsection shall
4    prohibit or restrict an employer from complying with a duty
5    to screen employees or applicants prior to hiring or to
6    monitor or retain employee communications as required
7    under Illinois insurance laws or federal law or by a
8    self-regulatory organization as defined in Section
9    3(A)(26) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C.
10    78(A)(26).
11    (6) (4) For the purposes of this subsection: ,
12        (A) "Social social networking website" means an
13    Internet-based service that allows individuals to:
14            (i) (A) construct a public or semi-public profile
15        within a bounded system, created by the service;
16            (ii) (B) create a list of other users with whom
17        they share a connection within the system; and
18            (iii) (C) view and navigate their list of
19        connections and those made by others within the system.
20        "Social networking website" does shall not include
21    electronic mail.
22        (B) "Personal online account" means an online account,
23    that is used by a person primarily for personal purposes.
24    "Personal online account" does not include an account
25    created, maintained, used, or accessed by a person for a
26    business purpose of the person's employer or prospective

 

 

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1    employer.
2    For the purposes of paragraph (3.5) of this subsection,
3"professional account" means an account, service, or profile
4created, maintained, used, or accessed by a current or
5prospective employee for business purposes of the employer.
6    For the purposes of paragraph (3.5) of this subsection,
7"personal account" means an account, service, or profile on a
8social networking website that is used by a current or
9prospective employee exclusively for personal communications
10unrelated to any business purposes of the employer.
11(Source: P.A. 97-875, eff. 1-1-13; 98-501, eff. 1-1-14.)