Bill Text: IL SB0202 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning prohibited inquiries.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2019-01-09 - Session Sine Die [SB0202 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-SB0202-Introduced.html

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100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2017 and 2018 SB0202 Introduced 1/24/2017, by Sen. John J. Cullerton SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
820 ILCS 55/10 from Ch. 48, par. 2860
Amends the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning prohibited inquiries.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning employment.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act is
amended by changing Section 10 as follows:
(820 ILCS 55/10) (from Ch. 48, par. 2860)
Sec. 10. Prohibited inquiries; online activities.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any employer to inquire, in a
written application or in any other manner, of any prospective
employee or of the the prospective employee's previous
employers, whether that prospective employee has ever filed a
claim for benefits under the Workers' Compensation Act or
Workers' Occupational Diseases Act or received benefits under
these Acts.
(b)(1) Except as provided in this subsection, it shall be
unlawful for any employer or prospective employer to:
(A) request, require, or coerce any employee or
prospective employee to provide a user name and password or
any password or other related account information in order
to gain access to the employee's or prospective employee's
personal online account or to demand access in any manner
to an employee's or prospective employee's personal online
account;

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(B) request, require, or coerce an employee or
applicant to authenticate or access a personal online
account in the presence of the employer;
(C) require or coerce an employee or applicant to
invite the employer to join a group affiliated with any
personal online account of the employee or applicant;
(D) require or coerce an employee or applicant to join
an online account established by the employer or add the
employer or an employment agency to the employee's or
applicant's list of contacts that enable the contacts to
access the employee or applicant's personal online
account;
(E) discharge, discipline, discriminate against,
retaliate against, or otherwise penalize an employee for
(i) refusing or declining to provide the employer with a
user name and password, password, or any other
authentication means for accessing his or her personal
online account, (ii) refusing or declining to authenticate
or access a personal online account in the presence of the
employer, (iii) refusing to invite the employer to join a
group affiliated with any personal online account of the
employee, (iv) refusing to join an online account
established by the employer, or (v) filing or causing to be
filed any complaint, whether orally or in writing, with a
public or private body or court concerning the employer's
violation of this subsection; or

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(F) fail or refuse to hire an applicant as a result of
his or her refusal to (i) provide the employer with a user
name and password, password, or any other authentication
means for accessing a personal online account, (ii)
authenticate or access a personal online account in the
presence of the employer, or (iii) invite the employer to
join a group affiliated with a personal online account of
the applicant.
(2) Nothing in this subsection shall limit an employer's
right to:
(A) promulgate and maintain lawful workplace policies
governing the use of the employer's electronic equipment,
including policies regarding Internet use, social
networking site use, and electronic mail use; or
(B) monitor usage of the employer's electronic
equipment and the employer's electronic mail without
requesting or using any employee or prospective employee to
provide any password or other related account information
in order to gain access to the employee's or prospective
employee's personal online account.
(3) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit an employer
from:
(A) obtaining about a prospective employee or an
employee information that is in the public domain or that
is otherwise obtained in compliance with this amendatory
Act of the 97th General Assembly;

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(B) complying with State and federal laws, rules, and
regulations and the rules of self-regulatory organizations
created pursuant to federal or State law when applicable;
(C) requesting or requiring an employee or applicant to
share specific content that has been reported to the
employer, without requesting or requiring an employee or
applicant to provide a user name and password, password, or
other means of authentication that provides access to an
employee's or applicant's personal online account, for the
purpose of:
(i) ensuring compliance with applicable laws or
regulatory requirements;
(ii) investigating an allegation, based on receipt
of specific information, of the unauthorized transfer
of an employer's proprietary or confidential
information or financial data to an employee or
applicant's personal account;
(iii) investigating an allegation, based on
receipt of specific information, of a violation of
applicable laws, regulatory requirements, or
prohibitions against work-related employee misconduct;
(iv) prohibiting an employee from using a personal
online account for business purposes; or
(v) prohibiting an employee or applicant from
accessing or operating a personal online account
during business hours, while on business property,

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while using an electronic communication device
supplied by, or paid for by, the employer, or while
using the employer's network or resources, to the
extent permissible under applicable laws.
(4) If an employer inadvertently receives the username,
password, or any other information that would enable the
employer to gain access to the employee's or potential
employee's personal online account through the use of an
otherwise lawful technology that monitors the employer's
network or employer-provided devices for network security or
data confidentiality purposes, then the employer is not liable
for having that information, unless the employer:
(A) uses that information, or enables a third party to
use that information, to access the employee or potential
employee's personal online account; or
(B) after the employer becomes aware that such
information was received, does not delete the information
as soon as is reasonably practicable, unless that
information is being retained by the employer in connection
with an ongoing investigation of an actual or suspected
breach of computer, network, or data security. Where an
employer knows or, through reasonable efforts, should be
aware that its network monitoring technology is likely to
inadvertently to receive such information, the employer
shall make reasonable efforts to secure that information.
(5) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit or restrict

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an employer from complying with a duty to screen employees or
applicants prior to hiring or to monitor or retain employee
communications as required under Illinois insurance laws or
federal law or by a self-regulatory organization as defined in
Section 3(A)(26) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15
U.S.C. 78(A)(26) provided that the password, account
information, or access sought by the employer only relates to
an online account that:
(A) an employer supplies or pays; or
(B) an employee creates or maintains on behalf of or
under direction of an employer in connection with that
employee's employment.
(6) For the purposes of this subsection:
(A) "Social networking website" means an
Internet-based service that allows individuals to:
(i) construct a public or semi-public profile
within a bounded system, created by the service;
(ii) create a list of other users with whom they
share a connection within the system; and
(iii) view and navigate their list of connections
and those made by others within the system.
"Social networking website" does not include
electronic mail.
(B) "Personal online account" means an online account,
that is used by a person primarily for personal purposes.
"Personal online account" does not include an account

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created, maintained, used, or accessed by a person for a
business purpose of the person's employer or prospective
employer.
(Source: P.A. 98-501, eff. 1-1-14; 99-610, eff. 1-1-17.)