Employee and applicant social media privacy
Lab. Code 980
Employees
Bars employers from requiring or asking employees or applicants for personal social media usernames and passwords, to open personal accounts in front of the employer, or to divulge personal social media, with limited exceptions for misconduct investigations and employer-issued devices.
- Where
- California
- Citation
- Cal. Lab. Code 980
- Status
- In force
- In force since
- 2013-01-01
- Last amended
- 2014-01-01
- Enforced by
- Labor Commissioner; courts
- People can sue
- No
- Penalties
- No penalty stated in the section; anti-retaliation rule in 980(e).
- Applies to
- Private and public employers in California
Practices it requires
- Do not require or request personal social media credentials, in-person account access, or disclosure of personal social media (investigation exception).Cal. Lab. Code 980(b)-(c)
- Do not retaliate against employees or applicants who refuse an unlawful request.Cal. Lab. Code 980(e)
Sources
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: Original effective date (Jan. 1, 2013, AB 1844) from background knowledge; private right of action status not determined.
Research reference, not legal advice.