On August 29, 2013, Governor Chris Christie signed a bill that prevents employers from requiring prospective or current employees to disclose their username and password information for their personal social media accounts or otherwise provide access to their accounts.  The law also gives employees greater safeguards against retaliation.  Notably, an employer may not require its employees to waiver their rights under this law.  The law takes effect on December 1, 2013.

The law is not limitless and does not provide the employee with a private right of action.  Rather, aggrieved individuals are allowed to report violations to the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.  For noncompliance, an employer is subject to a maximum fine of $2,500.

An employer may access the employee or prospective employee’s social media if the accounts are public.  Further, the law carves out an exception which allows employers to investigate “work-related employee” misconduct (and other legal violations) if the employer receives “specific information” about activity on the employee’s account.  Employers should consider these types of complaints as seriously as other discrimination or wrongdoing complaints, because the law imposes a duty on employers to conduct investigations to these alleged wrongdoings on social media sites.