New Jersey Court’s Decision Provides Roadmap For Access To Employees’ Restricted Social Media Content

With New Jersey poised to become the twelfth state to enact a social media password protection law and scant case law addressing the circumstances when and how an employer can lawfully access employees’ restricted social media content, last week’s decision by a federal district court in New Jersey provides much-needed guidance for employers on the question whether and when they can use an employee’s restricted social media content, provided by a co-worker, to impose discipline. That question is critical for managers, in-house employment counsel and human resources professionals because disgusted co-workers frequently “rat out” employees who abuse or embarrass their employer on restricted social media pages or lie to their managers and then post evidence of their fibs on their restricted social media pages.