Privacy Law Library

Employer access to employees' personal online accounts

Colorado social media password law

Employees

Colorado employers may not ask or require employees or applicants to disclose usernames or passwords for personal online accounts on personal devices, or to add the employer as a contact or change privacy settings, and may not retaliate for refusal. Limited exceptions cover securities and financial compliance investigations and investigations of unauthorized downloads of proprietary data.

Where

Colorado

Citation

C.R.S. 8-2-127

Status

In force

In force since

2013-05-11

Enforced by

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (8-2-127(5))

People can sue

Limited

Penalties

Administrative complaint; fines by rule up to $1,000 for a first offense and up to $5,000 for each later offense (8-2-127(5)).

Applies to

• Employers in Colorado, including state and local government, except the Department of Corrections, county corrections, and law enforcement agencies (8-2-127(1)(c))