Companies - Getting More Personal

A proposal is being introduced in the state of Washington that would allow employers to ask for employee's Facebook and other social networking passwords under certain circumstances. The proposed amendment will be added to the current bill which currently protects the passwords of employees and job applicants. Just last year, the AP reported that several companies had been requesting passwords from potential employees during the interview process.

As expected, these requests are largely viewed as an invasion of privacy. And as a result, several states have recently banned employers from making such requests and many more are currently looking into similar bans. However, in the case of Washington, should the amendment pass, employers will then be allowed to request the passwords during company investigations. The question is: What constitutes a "company investigation"? Suppose an employee is videotaped in the lunchroom using more than the approved number of Splenda packets in his morning coffee. Could the company accuse him of theft and demand to see his Facebook password? Sure, it sounds crazy, but anything is possible these days.

And how for will it go? If it's Facebook passwords today, how long will it be before companies get even more personal and intrusive? I can see it now........

"Excuse me, Mr. Smith. We, here at the XYZ Company, have reason to believe that you may have stolen a legal pad  and a handful of breath mints. We are asking you to surrender your keys so that we may conduct a thorough search of your home and automobile. If the search fails to turn up any incriminating evidence, we will then ask for your permission to conduct an intensive body-cavity search in which you will be probed like the bottom of a peanut butter jar. If we STILL fail to uncover any contraband, you will then. and ONLY then, be allowed to resume your normal workday activities while under heavy video surveillance. Mr. Smith, do we have your full cooperation?"

So, I guess you can understand why some people get a little antsy when it comes to surrendering access to their person stuff. Hell, we've all seen some of the crazy posts on Facebook. Many employers would, no doubt, be quite surprised to see the "other side" of some of their workers. Aside from the stupid duck-face photos, I have heard of people losing their jobs over their reckless online posts. I saw where one guy called his boss a worthless, douchebag. By the end of the day, can you believe that he was unemployed? Who would have ever saw that one coming? If I could offer you one piece of advice, it's this..... If you have a beef with a co-worker, a boss or the company in general, venting your frustrations on Facebook is NEVER a good idea. It's actually downright stupid.

Sorry, I'm starting to sound like Dr. Phil.....

To be fair, as I mentioned earlier, there are certain provisions that will be built into the Washington amendment. For instance, the social media passwords would only be requested when the company is doing an investigation concerning work-place misconduct or instances where propriety information was thought to have been given away. Also, the employee would be present while the employer is conducting any searches. Any information would be kept confidential unless it leads to a criminal investigation.

The original bill's sponsor, Democrat Sen. Steven Hobbs, has not taken to time to read the amendment yet. Perhaps he should make some time since this one is sure to ruffle more than a few feathers.....

kw