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1 | AN ACT concerning employment.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act is | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | amended by changing Section 10 as follows:
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6 | (820 ILCS 55/10) (from Ch. 48, par. 2860)
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7 | Sec. 10. Prohibited inquiries ; online activities . | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | (a) It shall be unlawful for any employer
to inquire, in a | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | written application or in any other manner, of any
prospective | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | employee or of the prospective employee's previous employers,
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11 | whether that prospective employee has ever filed a claim for | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | benefits under
the Workers' Compensation Act or Workers' | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | Occupational Diseases Act or
received benefits under these | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | Acts.
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15 | (b)(1) Except as provided in this subsection, it shall be | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | unlawful for any employer to request or require any employee or | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | prospective employee to provide a user name and password or any | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | password or other related account information in order to gain | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | access to the employee's or prospective employee's account or | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | profile on a social networking website or to demand access in | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | any manner to an employee's or prospective employee's account | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | or profile on a social networking website. | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | (2) Nothing in this subsection shall limit an employer's |
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1 | right to: | ||||||
2 | (A) promulgate and maintain lawful workplace policies | ||||||
3 | governing the use of the employer's electronic equipment, | ||||||
4 | including policies regarding Internet use, social | ||||||
5 | networking site use, and electronic mail use; and | ||||||
6 | (B) monitor usage of the employer's electronic | ||||||
7 | equipment and the employer's electronic mail without | ||||||
8 | requesting or requiring any employee or prospective | ||||||
9 | employee to provide any password or other related account | ||||||
10 | information in order to gain access to the employee's or | ||||||
11 | prospective employee's account or profile on a social | ||||||
12 | networking website. | ||||||
13 | (3) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit an employer | ||||||
14 | from obtaining about a prospective employee or an employee | ||||||
15 | information that is in the public domain or that is otherwise | ||||||
16 | obtained in compliance with this amendatory Act of the 97th | ||||||
17 | General Assembly. | ||||||
18 | (3.5) Provided that the password, account information, or | ||||||
19 | access sought by the employer relates to a professional | ||||||
20 | account, and not a personal account, nothing in this subsection | ||||||
21 | shall prohibit or restrict an employer from complying with a | ||||||
22 | duty to screen employees or applicants prior to hiring or to | ||||||
23 | monitor or retain employee communications as required under | ||||||
24 | Illinois insurance laws or federal law or by a self-regulatory | ||||||
25 | organization as defined in Section 3(A)(26) of the Securities | ||||||
26 | Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. 78(A)(26). |
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1 | (4) For the purposes of this subsection, "social networking | ||||||
2 | website" means an Internet-based service that allows | ||||||
3 | individuals to: | ||||||
4 | (A) construct a public or semi-public profile within a | ||||||
5 | bounded system, created by the service; | ||||||
6 | (B) create a list of other users with whom they share a | ||||||
7 | connection within the system; and | ||||||
8 | (C) view and navigate their list of connections and | ||||||
9 | those made by others within the system. | ||||||
10 | "Social networking website" shall not include electronic | ||||||
11 | mail. | ||||||
12 | For the purposes of paragraph (3.5) of this subsection, | ||||||
13 | "professional account" means an account, service, or profile | ||||||
14 | created, maintained, used, or accessed by a current or | ||||||
15 | prospective employee for business purposes of the employer. | ||||||
16 | For the purposes of paragraph (3.5) of this subsection, | ||||||
17 | "personal account" means an account, service, or profile on a | ||||||
18 | social networking website that is used by a current or | ||||||
19 | prospective employee exclusively for personal communications | ||||||
20 | unrelated to any business purposes of the employer. | ||||||
21 | (c) It is unlawful for an employer to request or require an | ||||||
22 | employee or applicant to authenticate or access a personal | ||||||
23 | online account in the presence of the employer. | ||||||
24 | It is unlawful for an employer to request or require that | ||||||
25 | an employee or applicant invite the employer to join a group | ||||||
26 | affiliated with any personal online account of the employee or |
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1 | applicant. | ||||||
2 | It is unlawful for an employer to request or require that | ||||||
3 | an employee or applicant join an online account established by | ||||||
4 | the employer. | ||||||
5 | It is unlawful for an employer to discharge, discipline, | ||||||
6 | discriminate against, retaliate against, or otherwise penalize | ||||||
7 | an employee who (A) refuses or declines to provide the employer | ||||||
8 | with a user name and password, password, or any other | ||||||
9 | authentication means for accessing his or her personal online | ||||||
10 | account, (B) refuses or declines to authenticate or access a | ||||||
11 | personal online account in the presence of the employer, (C) | ||||||
12 | refuses to invite the employer to join a group affiliated with | ||||||
13 | any personal online account of the employee, (D) refuses to | ||||||
14 | join an online account established by the employs, or (E) files | ||||||
15 | or causes to be filed any complaint, whether orally or in | ||||||
16 | writing, with a public or private body or court concerning the | ||||||
17 | employer's violation of this subsection. | ||||||
18 | It is unlawful for an employer to fail or refuse to hire an | ||||||
19 | applicant as a result of his or her refusal to (A) provide the | ||||||
20 | employer with a user name and password, password, or any other | ||||||
21 | authentication means for accessing a personal online account, | ||||||
22 | (B) authenticate or access a personal online account in the | ||||||
23 | presence of the employer, or (C) invite the employer to join a | ||||||
24 | group affiliated with a personal online account of the | ||||||
25 | applicant. | ||||||
26 | As used in this subsection, "personal online account" means |
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1 | an online account that is used by a person exclusively for | ||||||
2 | personal purposes and unrelated to any business purpose of the | ||||||
3 | person's employer or prospective employer, including | ||||||
4 | electronic mail, social media, and retail-based Internet web | ||||||
5 | sites. "Personal online account" does not include an account | ||||||
6 | created, maintained, used, or accessed by a person for a | ||||||
7 | business purpose of the person's employer or prospective | ||||||
8 | employer. | ||||||
9 | (Source: P.A. 97-875, eff. 1-1-13; 98-501, eff. 1-1-14.)
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