Prohibits an employer or educational institution from requesting or requiring that an employee, applicant or student disclose any user name, password, or other means for accessing a personal account or service through specified electronic communications devices.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4388
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, JAFFEE, CRESPO, LAVINE, COLTON, ARROYO,
ZEBROWSKI, SCARBOROUGH, TITONE, HOOPER, ROSENTHAL, GALEF, KAVANAGH,
WEPRIN, ABINANTI, THIELE, CLARK, OTIS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of
A. BRENNAN, COOK, GLICK, GOTTFRIED, HIKIND, McDONOUGH, PEOPLES-STOKES,
RAIA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law and the education law, in relation to
prohibiting an employer or educational institution from requesting or
requiring that an employee, applicant or student disclose any user
name, password, or other means for accessing a personal account or
service through specified electronic communications devices
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 201-g to
2 read as follows:
3 § 201-g. Request for access to personal accounts or services prohibit-
4 ed. 1. For purposes of this section, the following words shall have the
5 following meanings:
6 (a) "Applicant" means an applicant for employment.
7 (b) "Electronic communications device" means any device that uses
8 electronic signals to create, transmit, and receive information, includ-
9 ing, but not limited to computers, telephones, personal digital assist-
10 ants and other similar devices.
11 (c) "Employer" means (i) a person or entity engaged in a business,
12 industry, profession, trade or other enterprise in the state; or (ii) a
13 unit of state or local government; and (iii) shall include an agent,
14 representative or designee of the employer.
15 2. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, it
16 shall be unlawful for any employer to request or require any employee or
17 applicant for employment to disclose any user name and password or other
18 means for accessing a personal account or service through an electronic
19 communications device.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01077-02-5
A. 4388 2
1 (b) An employer may require an employee to disclose any user name,
2 password or other means for accessing nonpersonal accounts or services
3 that provide access to the employer's internal computer or information
4 systems.
5 (c) For the purposes of this section, "access" shall not include an
6 employee or applicant voluntarily adding an employer or employment agen-
7 cy to their list of contacts associated with a personal internet
8 account.
9 3. An employer may not:
10 (a) Discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize or threaten to
11 discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize an employee for an employ-
12 ee's refusal to disclose any information specified in paragraph (a) of
13 subdivision two of this section; or
14 (b) Fail or refuse to hire any applicant as a result of the appli-
15 cant's refusal to disclose any information specified in paragraph (a) of
16 subdivision two of this section.
17 4. It shall be an affirmative defense to an action under this section
18 that the employer acted to comply with requirements of a federal law or
19 a law of this state.
20 5. (a) Nothing in this section shall prohibit an employer from:
21 (i) requesting or requiring an employee to disclose access information
22 to an account, service, or network provided by the employer where such
23 account, service, or network is used for business purposes and the
24 employee was provided prior notice of the employer's right to request or
25 require such access information;
26 (ii) accessing an electronic communications device paid for in whole
27 or in part by the employer where the provision of or payment for such
28 electronic communications device was conditioned on the employer's right
29 to access such device and the employee was provided prior notice of and
30 explicitly agreed to such conditions. However, nothing in this subpara-
31 graph shall permit an employer to access any personal accounts or
32 services on such device;
33 (iii) complying with a court order in obtaining or providing informa-
34 tion from, or access to, an employee's accounts or services as such
35 court order may require;
36 (iv) restricting or prohibiting an employee's access to certain
37 websites while using an employer's network or while using an electronic
38 communications device paid for in whole or part by the employer where
39 the provision of or payment for such electronic communications device
40 was conditioned on the employer's right to restrict such access and the
41 employee was provided prior notice of and explicitly agreed to such
42 conditions.
43 (b) This section does not prohibit or restrict an employer from
44 complying with a duty to screen employees or applicants prior to hiring
45 or to monitor or retain employee communications that is established
46 under federal law or by a self regulatory organization, as defined in
47 section 3(a)(26) of the securities and exchange act of 1934, 15 USC
48 78c(a)(26).
49 (c) This section does not prohibit or restrict an employer from view-
50 ing, accessing, or utilizing information about an employee or applicant
51 that can be obtained without any required access information or that is
52 available in the public domain.
53 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 115 to read
54 as follows:
A. 4388 3
1 § 115. Request for access to personal accounts or services prohibited.
2 1. For purposes of this section, the following words shall have the
3 following meanings:
4 (a) "Educational institution" means a public or private educational
5 institution or separate school or department of a public or private
6 educational institution, and includes an academy; elementary or second-
7 ary school; extension course; kindergarten; nursery school; school
8 system; school district; intermediate school district; business, nurs-
9 ing, professional, secretarial, technical, or vocational school; public
10 or private educational testing service or administrator; and an agent of
11 an educational institution. Educational institution shall be construed
12 broadly to include public and private institutions of higher education
13 to the greatest extent consistent with constitutional limitations.
14 (b) "Electronic communications device" means any device that uses
15 electronic signals to create, transmit, and receive information, includ-
16 ing, but not limited to computers, telephones, personal digital assist-
17 ants and other similar devices.
18 2. It shall be unlawful for any educational institution to:
19 (a) request or require any student or prospective student to disclose
20 any user name and password or other means for accessing a personal
21 account or service through an electronic communications device; or
22 (b) expel, discipline, fail to admit, or otherwise penalize a student
23 or prospective student for failure to grant access to, allow observation
24 of, or disclose information that allows access to or observation of the
25 student's or prospective student's personal internet account.
26 (c) For the purposes of this section, "access" shall not include an
27 employee or applicant voluntarily adding an employer or employment agen-
28 cy to their list of contacts associated with a personal internet
29 account.
30 3. Nothing in this section prohibits an educational institution from:
31 (a) accessing an electronic communications device paid for in whole or
32 in part by the educational institution where the provision of or payment
33 for such electronic communications device was conditioned on the educa-
34 tional institution's right to access such device and the student was
35 provided prior notice of and explicitly agreed to such conditions.
36 However, nothing in this paragraph shall permit an educational institu-
37 tion to access any personal accounts or services on such device; or
38 (b) requesting or requiring a student to disclose access information
39 to an account or service provided by the educational institution where
40 such account or service is used for educational purposes and the student
41 was provided prior notice of the educational institution's right to
42 request or require such access information.
43 4. This section shall not prohibit or restrict an educational institu-
44 tion from viewing, accessing, or utilizing information about a student
45 or applicant that can be obtained without any required access informa-
46 tion or that is available in the public domain.
47 5. It is an affirmative defense to an action under this section that
48 the educational institution acted to comply with requirements of a
49 federal law or a law of this state.
50 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
51 it shall have become a law.
