Can My Employer Require Access to My Social Media Accounts?

Social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram provide opportunities to share personal photos and ideas, to stay in touch with friends and family members, and to find like-minded community members. Indeed, social media allows people to remain connected in ways that they otherwise could not. According to data from the Pew Research Center, working-age adults between 18 and 65 actively post on a range of social media platforms, and an average of more than 70 percent use Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. While there are differences in the types of social media accounts used by adults based on age group, the data shows that nearly all adults use some type of social media.

While some people leave their social media accounts public, many make use of privacy tools so that only friends or followers can access the content they post. Regardless, many people post on social media about their political positions and ideas, and other potentially controversial matters. For many of those people, they assume their posts have nothing to do with their jobs since they are posting outside the workplace and outside work hours. Yet that might not always be true. If you work in Florida, can your employer require access to your social media accounts? Our South Florida employment law attorneys can give you more information.

Florida Employers Can Request Your Social Media Information 

There are no federal laws, and no state laws in Florida, that prohibit employers from asking job applicants or current employees for information about their social media accounts. To be clear, if you apply for a job, the employer can ask for your social media information and can make hiring decisions based on what you have posted. Likewise, an existing employer can ask for social media information and use information you have posted.

Employers cannot, however, access your social media account without your permissions through hacking or other unlawful means. The Stored Communications Act, a federal law, prohibits this type of behavior.

Employer Cannot Discriminate Based on Information in Your Social Media Account 

While an employer may ask to access your social media, they cannot learn about your membership in a protected group or identity — such as race, sex, gender identity, being pregnant, or having a disability — and use that information to take adverse action against you. To be clear, that type of information cannot be used by a potential or existing employer to make hiring decisions or other work-related decisions, or to retaliate against you in any way.

These kinds of actions would constitute unlawful discrimination and could allow you to file a claim under an existing federal law or under the Florida Civil Rights Act.

Contact Our Palm Beach Gardens Employment Law Attorneys 

If you have any questions or concerns about your rights as an employee in Florida, or your protections against employment discrimination, you should seek legal help as soon as possible. One of the experienced Palm Beach Gardens employment lawyers at Sconzo Law Office can talk with you today about the circumstances you are facing and your options for making your working life more equitable.

Sources:

pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/

justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-1061-unlawful-access-stored-communications-18-usc-2701