Employer access to, and observation of, the personal Internet accounts of employees and applicants for employment; educational institution access to, and observation of, the personal Internet accounts of students and prospective students; landlord access to, and observation of, the personal Internet accounts of tenants and prospective tenants; and providing a penalty. (FE)

and 2) discharging, expelling, suspending, disciplining, or otherwise penalizing or discriminating against any person for exercising the right to refuse such a a request, opposing such a a practice, filing a complaint or attempting to enforce that right, or testifying or assisting in any action or proceeding to enforce that right.

The bill, however, permits an employer, educational institution, or landlord to view, access, or use information about an employee, applicant for employment, student, prospective student, tenant, or prospective tenant that can be obtained without access information or that is available from the public domain.

The bill also permits an employer or educational institution to request or require an employee or student to disclose access information to the employer or educational institution in order for the employer or educational institution to gain access to or operate an electronic communications device paid for in whole or in part by the employer or educational institution or to gain access to an account or service that is provided by the employer or educational institution, that the employee or student obtained by virtue of the employment relationship or admission to the educational institution, or that is used for business or educational purposes.

The bill, in addition, permits an employer to do any of the following:

1. Discharge or discipline an employee for transferring the employer's proprietary or confidential information or financial data to the employee's personal Internet account without the employer's authorization.

2. Conduct an investigation or require an employee to cooperate in an investigation of any alleged unauthorized transfer of the employer's proprietary or confidential information or financial data to the employee's personal Internet account or of any other alleged employment-related misconduct or violation of the law.

3. Restrict or prohibit an employee's access to certain Internet sites while using an electronic communications device paid for in whole or in part by the employer or while using the employer's network or other resources.

4. Monitor, review, or access electronic data that is stored on an electronic communications device paid for in whole or in part by the employer or electronic data that is traveling through or stored on the employer's network.

5. Comply with a duty to screen applicants for employment prior to hiring that is established under state or federal law or by a self-regulatory organization, as defined under the federal Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (self-regulatory organization).

6. Requesting or requiring an employee to disclose the employee's personal electronic mail address.

In addition, with respect to an employer, the bill provides that the prohibition created under the bill does not apply to a personal Internet account or an electronic communications device of an employee engaged in providing financial services who uses the account or device to conduct the business of an employer that is subject to the content, supervision, and retention requirements imposed by federal securities laws and regulations or by a self-regulatory organization.

Finally, the bill provides that an employer, educational institution, or landlord does not have a duty to search or monitor the activity of any personal Internet account and that an employer, educational institution, or landlord is not liable for any failure to request or require access to or observation of a personal Internet account of an employee, applicant for employment, student, prospective student, tenant, or prospective tenant.

For purposes of the bill: 1) "access information" means a user name and password, login information, or any other security information that protects access to a personal Internet account; 2) "educational institution" means an institution of higher education, a technical college, a proprietary school, a public school, a charter school, a private school, or a private educational testing service or administrator; 3) "employer" includes the state; and 4) "personal Internet account" means an account created and used exclusively for personal purposes within a bounded system established by an Internet-based service that requires a user to input or store access information via an electronic device in order to view, create, use, or edit the user's account information, profile, display, communications, or stored data.