§ 201-i. Request for access to personal accounts prohibited. 1. For
purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following
meanings:

(a) "Applicant" means an applicant for employment.

(b) "Electronic communications device" means any device that uses
electronic signals to create, transmit, and receive information,
including, but not limited to computers, telephones, personal digital
assistants and other similar devices.

(c) "Employer" means (i) a person or entity engaged in a business,
industry, profession, trade or other enterprise in the state; (ii) the
state of New York; (iii) a county, city, town, village or any other
political subdivision or civil division of the state; (iv) a school
district or any government entity operating a public school, college, or
university; (v) a public improvement or special district; (vi) a public
authority, commission or public benefit corporation; or (vii) any other
public corporation, agency, instrumentality or unit of government which
exercises governmental power under the laws of the state; and (viii)
shall include an agent, representative or designee of the employer.

(d) "Personal account" means an account or profile on an electronic
medium where users may create, share, and view user-generated content,
including uploading or downloading videos or still photographs, blogs,
video blogs, podcasts, instant messages, or internet website profiles or
locations that is used by an employee or an applicant exclusively for
personal purposes.

2. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, it
shall be unlawful for any employer to request, require or coerce any
employee or applicant for employment to:

(i) disclose any user name and password, password, or other
authentication information for accessing a personal account through an
electronic communications device;

(ii) access the employee's or applicant's personal account in the
presence of the employer; or

(iii) reproduce in any manner photographs, video, or other information
contained within a personal account obtained by the means prohibited in
this paragraph.

(b) An employer may require an employee to disclose any user name,
password or other means for accessing nonpersonal accounts that provide
access to the employer's internal computer or information systems.

(c) For the purposes of this section, "access" shall not include an
employee or applicant voluntarily adding an employer, agent of the
employer, or employment agency to their list of contacts associated with
a personal internet account.

3. An employer may not:

(a) Discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize or threaten to
discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize an employee for an
employee's refusal to disclose any information specified in paragraph
(a) of subdivision two of this section; or

(b) Fail or refuse to hire any applicant as a result of the
applicant's refusal to disclose any information specified in paragraph
(a) of subdivision two of this section.

4. It shall be an affirmative defense to an action under this section
that the employer acted to comply with requirements of a federal, state
or local law.

5. (a) Nothing in this section shall prohibit an employer from:

(i) requesting or requiring an employee to disclose access information
to an account provided by the employer where such account is used for
business purposes and the employee was provided prior notice of the
employer's right to request or require such access information;

(ii) requesting or requiring an employee to disclose access
information to an account known to an employer to be used for business
purposes;

(iii) accessing an electronic communications device paid for in whole
or in part by the employer where the provision of or payment for such
electronic communications device was conditioned on the employer's right
to access such device and the employee was provided prior notice of and
explicitly agreed to such conditions. However, nothing in this
subparagraph shall permit an employer to access any personal accounts on
such device;

(iv) complying with a court order in obtaining or providing
information from, or access to, an employee's accounts as such court
order may require;

(v) restricting or prohibiting an employee's access to certain
websites while using an employer's network or while using an electronic
communications device paid for in whole or part by the employer where
the provision of or payment for such electronic communications device
was conditioned on the employer's right to restrict such access and the
employee was provided prior notice of and explicitly agreed to such
conditions.

(b) This section does not prohibit or restrict an employer from
complying with a duty to screen employees or applicants prior to hiring
or to monitor or retain employee communications that is established
under federal law or by a self regulatory organization, as defined in
section 3(a)(26) of the securities and exchange act of 1934, 15 USC
§78c(a)(26).

(c) This section does not prohibit or restrict an employer from
viewing, accessing, or utilizing information about an employee or
applicant that can be obtained without any required access information,
that is available in the public domain, or for the purposes of obtaining
reports of misconduct or investigating misconduct, photographs, video,
messages, or other information that is voluntarily shared by an
employee, client, or other third party that the employee subject to such
report or investigation has voluntarily given access to contained within
such employee's personal account.

6. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any law
enforcement agency, a fire department or a department of corrections and
community supervision.