TITLE I: RESTRICTIVE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS
1. No labor organization shall limit the right of any member thereof to institute an action in any court, or in a proceeding before any administrative agency, irrespective of whether or not the labor organization or its officers are named as defendants or respondents in such action or proceeding, or the right of any member of a labor organization to appear as a witness in any judicial, administrative, or legislative proceeding, or to petition any legislature or to communicate with any legislator, provided that:
A. Any such member may be required to exhaust reasonable hearing procedures (but not to exceed a four (4) month lapse of time) within such organization, before instituting legal or administrative proceedings against such organizations or any officer thereof; and
B. no interested employer shall directly or indirectly finance, encourage, or participate in, except as a party, any such action, proceeding, appearance, or petition.
2. No member of any labor organization may be fined, suspended, expelled, or otherwise disciplined except for nonpayment of dues by such organization or by any officer thereof.
3. Any provision of the constitution and bylaws of any labor organization that is inconsistent with the provisions of this section shall be of no force or effect.
TITLE II: SOCIAL MEDIA
1. As used in this title:
A.
Adverse action means to discharge, threaten, or otherwise discriminate against an employee in any manner that affects the employee’s employment, including compensation, terms, conditions, location, rights, immunities, promotions, or privileges.
B.
Employer means a person, including the Southern Region, a State, or a political subdivision of a State, that has one (1) or more workers employed in the same business, or in or about the same establishment, with the right to control and direct the work provided by such workers.
C.
Personal Internet account means an online account that is used by an employee or applicant exclusively for personal communications unrelated to any business purpose of the employer.
Personal Internet account does not include an account created, maintained, used, or accessed by an employee or applicant for business related communications or for a business purpose of the employer.
2. An employer may not do any of the following:
A. request or require an employee or an applicant for employment to disclose a username and password, or a password that allows access to the employee’s or applicant’s personal Internet account;
B. compel an employee or applicant for employment to add the employer or an employment agency to the employee’s or applicant’s list of contacts associated with a personal Internet account;
C. compel an employee or an applicant for employment to access a personal Internet account in the presence of the employer in a manner that enables the employer to observe the contents of the employee’s or applicant’s personal Internet account;
D. take adverse action, fail to hire, or otherwise penalize an employee or applicant for employment for failure to disclose information or take actions specified in subsection (A)-(C).
3. This title does not prohibit an employer from doing any of the following:
A. requesting or requiring an employee to disclose a username or password required only to gain access to an electronic communications device supplied by or paid for in whole or in part
by the employer, or an account or service provided by the employer, obtained by virtue of the employee’s employment relationship with the employer, or used for the employer’s business purposes;
B. disciplining or discharging an employee for transferring the employer’s proprietary or confidential information or financial data to an employee’s personal Internet account without the employer’s authorization;
C. conducting an investigation or requiring an employee to cooperate in an investigation if there is specific information about activity on the employee’s personal Internet account, for the purpose of ensuring compliance with applicable laws, regulatory requirements, or prohibitions against work-related employee misconduct, or if the employer has specific information about an unauthorized transfer of the employer’s proprietary information, confidential information, or financial data to an employee’s personal Internet account;
D. restricting or prohibiting an employee’s access to certain websites while using an electronic communications device supplied by, or paid for in whole or in part by, the employer or while using an employer’s network or resources, to the extent permissible under applicable laws; or
E. monitoring, reviewing, accessing, or blocking electronic data stored on an electronic communications device supplied by, or paid for in whole or in part by, the employer, or stored on an employer’s network, to the extent permissible under applicable laws.
4. Conducting an investigation or requiring an employee to cooperate in an investigation as specified herein includes requiring the employee to share the content that has been reported in order to make a factual determination.
5. This title does not prohibit or restrict an employer from complying with a duty to screen employees or applicants before hiring or to monitor or retain employee communications that is established under federal law, by a self-regulatory organization under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, or in the course of a law enforcement employment application or law enforcement officer conduct investigation performed by a law enforcement agency.
6. This title does not prohibit or restrict an employer from viewing, accessing, or using information about an employee or applicant that can be obtained without the information described herein or that is available in the public domain.
7. The Attorney General may bring may bring a civil cause of action against an employer in a court of competent jurisdiction on behalf of a citizen aggrieved by a violation of this title, of $1,000 per violation.
TITLE III: EMPLOYER REFERENCES
1. An employer, or an employer’s designee, who discloses truthful and unbiased information about a current or former employee’s job performance to a prospective employer of the employee shall be presumed to be acting in good faith and qualifiedly immune from civil liability for the disclosure and the consequences of the disclosure.
2. An employer, or an employer’s designee, who discloses information about a current or former employee to a prospective employer of the employee shall be absolutely immune from civil liability for the disclosure and the consequences of the disclosure where the disclosure concerns:
A. date of employment;
B. pay level;
C. job description and duties; and
D. wage history.
3. An employer, or an employer’s designee, shall be presumed to be acting in good faith and qualifiedly immune from civil liability for damages arising as a result of hiring or retaining an employee unless the employer, or employer’s designee, knows that the hiring or retaining poses a threat to others, provided the employer, or employer’s designee, has taken reasonable steps to obtain and review the credentials and background of the employee prior to hiring.
4. The presumption of good faith established in this title may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence that the information disclosed was knowingly false, disclosed with reckless disregard for the truth, deliberately misleading, disclosed for a malicious purpose, or in the violation of a civil right of the current or former employee.
5. Employer immunity may not apply in this title where the information is disclosed in violation of a nondisclosure agreement or the information disclosed was otherwise considered confidential according to applicable federal, Regional, State, or local statutes, rules, or regulations.
TITLE IV: ENACTMENT
1. This act shall take effect ninety (90) days after passage.
