Councilman wants to end employer requests for social media passwords
City Councilman Bill Greenlee is joining the bandwagon of legislators who say employers should butt out of employees' personal lives.
Councilman wants to end employer requests for social media passwords
Jan Ransom
Has an employer ever asked for your Facebook or Twitter password?
Well doing so is illegal in at least two states: California and Illinois. Now City Councilman Bill Greenlee is joining the bandwagon of legislators who say employers should butt out of employees’ personal lives.
“They shouldn’t be forced to give up their social media account where employers or prospective employers can look into what really is their private business which might divulge their political beliefs, their religious beliefs, their sexual orientation, that kind of thing. And that shouldn’t really be the employers business to know,” Greenlee said.
Greenlee introduced a bill Thursday that would prohibit employers from asking for passwords to social media accounts. He said he heard of job seekers that had been asked to handover their passwords, but it wasn’t clear if the matter was a problem here in Philadelphia.
“I can’t give you a specific example, but I know it has happened,” said Greenlee. “We have heard from people who complained about this.”
Should the bill pass it would be up to the Nutter administration to establish an agency (or assign the function to an existing one) and procedure to take complaints, Greenlee said.
Meanwhile, a bill sponsored by Greenlee on behalf of the administration that would regulate horses on private property was unanimously approved by Council.
Comments (25)
City Council is always right on top of the most important issues of the day. (Note sarcasm.)— Blister- so what you state on a social site is considered public information ? what happened to the freedom of speech ? what a world we have....— eddiot
- At my work, we do a lot of interviewing and we are forbidden to NOT to google or search for anything on the candidate... too many discrimination lawsuits in the country. "He saw my facebook page and realized I was an older person and they didnt hire me because of my age!"
So having access to a candidate's full account and email, that has to open the door wide open for trouble.. "I have messages with my friends about the republican party, and that's why I didnt get hired"
— OnTheBandwagon - Two schools of thought on this - an employer, ANY employer has no right to your Facebook account as a condition of employment. Would you be entitled to the interviewer's account? Perhaps allow them to see your page, but not a password. That is just bully tactics to get people to cave in, and in today's job market, some people will do anything they have to to provide for themselves and their family. Use Linkedin or some other professional-type network - that's what it's for.
Second point, don't put stupid stuff on your facebook page. It's out there for the world to see. No pictures of you with a bong or standing on your head chuggin out of a keg. It will come back to haunt you someplace down the line.— mportik - I agree with many of the comments on here-City Council has NOTHING better to do? Ok, let's introduce a bill condemning an action in FL, or banning raccoons from digging through abandoned lots. These are your tax dollars at work.— BenFranklinToday
- I am sorry but I really doubt this is a wide spread problem. Most employers don't have time to be snooping through Facebook pages, etc.— Joschmo
- "...He said he heard of job seekers that had been asked to handover their passwords...." Since when is "handover" a single word? That is sloppy writing and editing. It is "hand over" with a space between. Quit debasing the language.— Jinchesco
I don't see how this is a Philadelphia issue. Let the State decide if/how to proceed. Let the State pick up the expense.
We can't rely on Council to effectively manage what they are supposed to do? Do we want to add one more area (AND EXPENSE we can't afford) to see them blotch another?
We should be looking at ways to REDUCE both the size of council and the areas they mismanage....or we can just bend over some more and say double that AVI.- I agree this is a state issue. But, given the employer friendly, conservative legislature we have, good luck with that.
It's not right that employers want to know anything about my personal life. I've never been asked for my password, but I'm also in a position where I could turn down a job if someone did. I have nothing to hide, but I do have to have some boundaries. Allowing employers to do this is walking all over our rights.
I know the city has a lot to do, but I gotta say, this is important to protect ourselves.— PotteryPete -
I'm not arguing the privacy issue. I do argue both who's jurisdiction this is and who can effectively manage this.
Philadelphia City Council meets neither of those two points. Next, council will pass a ban on nuclear weapons testing and look to add another layer of government in a fraudulent attempt at 'oversight'.
An exaggeration? Sure but not by much. Greenlee, get council to do its job properly. How about starting with policing the ethics of your own members? - So he has no concrete examples but he wants to pass legislation anyway. Brilliant.
Even if it's a good idea, he's still wrong.— theodotius - Giving access to your Facebook account to other users is a violation of the terms of service posted by Facebook.— tjinphilly
- In a city where our kids are frequently shot to death and citizens are afraid to walk the streets for fear of being shot, robbed or raped, maybe Councilman Greenlee and his fellow Honorables should concentrate first on the serious things that are sinking this City and less on minor things like this silly social media bill. Much of the City is in shambles while Greelee and his silly buddies are "shocked, shocked" about this insignificant jelly spot.— swonderful
- it may happen in philly and pittsburgh - but not the state - too many republicans who need to know everything you do so they can judge you— mikey5432
- Symbolic only. If you are interviewing and say no you are not going to get the job law or no law.— Earl J
- There is no reason that an employer should have the password. This is a serious invasion of privacy.— jeanjae
- Why would they need the password to see what their prospective employees are putting out on the web? Makes no sense.— ICDogg
- Council proposing another law to solve a problem that they aren't sure even exists in the city.— BarryG
- With all of the problems the city of Philadelphia faces, especially the school system, this is the best waste of time any city council member has come up with yet. This is a do nothing agenda item that gives the illusion that a city council member is doing something usefull. Without actually achieving anything of substance.— cookie23
Comment removed.- Why work for an employer who demands your passwords? Simply find another job.— kelprod2-freemarket
- Comment removed.
- Drones overhead? Did you forget to put your tinfoil hat on this morning?
Go ahead, renounce (not Denounce) your citizenship, "Dr.". My guess is you won't be happy wherever you live.— Tatt2 - What Greenlee should be telling people is not to advertise that they live like fools and thugs.— tr88
- tr88 probably believes that employers can impose their own religious beliefs on the workers too
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Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns. E-mail tips to brennac@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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Follow Chris on Twitter
David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
Follow Dave on Twitter.
Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
Follow Jan on Twitter
Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
Follow Sean on Twitter
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