| 1 | 1 | | 83R15210 KSD-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Giddings H.B. No. 318 |
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| 3 | 3 | | Substitute the following for H.B. No. 318: |
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| 4 | 4 | | By: Rodriguez of Travis C.S.H.B. No. 318 |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to employer access to the personal accounts of certain |
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| 10 | 10 | | employees and job applicants through electronic communication |
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| 11 | 11 | | devices; establishing an unlawful employment practice. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Labor Code, is amended |
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| 14 | 14 | | by adding Section 21.0605 to read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | Sec. 21.0605. PERSONAL ACCOUNT ACCESS. (a) In this |
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| 16 | 16 | | section: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (1) "Electronic communication device" includes a |
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| 18 | 18 | | computer, telephone, personal digital assistant, or similar device |
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| 19 | 19 | | that uses electronic signals to create, transmit, and receive |
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| 20 | 20 | | information. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (2) "Employer" includes an employer's agent, |
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| 22 | 22 | | representative, or designee. The term does not include a state or |
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| 23 | 23 | | local law enforcement agency. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an employer may |
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| 25 | 25 | | not require or request that an employee or applicant for employment |
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| 26 | 26 | | disclose a user name, password, or other means for accessing a |
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| 27 | 27 | | personal account of the employee or applicant, including a personal |
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| 28 | 28 | | e-mail account or a social networking website account or profile, |
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| 29 | 29 | | through an electronic communication device. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (c) An employer may access a personal account of an employee |
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| 31 | 31 | | if the employer holds a reasonable belief that the employee has |
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| 32 | 32 | | violated: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (1) state or federal law, including a federal |
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| 34 | 34 | | regulation or any regulatory policy or guidance issued by a federal |
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| 35 | 35 | | agency; or |
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| 36 | 36 | | (2) an employment policy of the employer, including a |
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| 37 | 37 | | policy governing: |
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| 38 | 38 | | (A) employee usage of an electronic |
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| 39 | 39 | | communication device for work-related communications; |
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| 40 | 40 | | (B) the storage of potentially sensitive, |
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| 41 | 41 | | nonpublic consumer information or of employer proprietary |
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| 42 | 42 | | information; |
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| 43 | 43 | | (C) employee cooperation in a workplace |
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| 44 | 44 | | investigation; or |
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| 45 | 45 | | (D) the safety and security of employees and |
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| 46 | 46 | | customers of the employer. |
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| 47 | 47 | | (d) An employer who violates this section commits an |
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| 48 | 48 | | unlawful employment practice. |
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| 49 | 49 | | (e) This section does not prohibit an employer from: |
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| 50 | 50 | | (1) maintaining lawful workplace policies governing: |
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| 51 | 51 | | (A) employee usage of employer-provided |
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| 52 | 52 | | electronic communication devices, including employee access to |
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| 53 | 53 | | personal accounts on those devices; or |
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| 54 | 54 | | (B) employee usage of personal electronic |
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| 55 | 55 | | communication devices during working hours; |
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| 56 | 56 | | (2) monitoring employee usage of employer-provided |
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| 57 | 57 | | electronic communication devices or employer-provided e-mail |
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| 58 | 58 | | accounts consistent with the requirements of this section; or |
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| 59 | 59 | | (3) obtaining information about an employee or |
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| 60 | 60 | | applicant for employment that is in the public domain or that is |
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| 61 | 61 | | otherwise lawfully obtained. |
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| 62 | 62 | | (f) This section does not apply to an employer engaged in |
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| 63 | 63 | | financial services. For purposes of this subsection, "employer |
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| 64 | 64 | | engaged in financial services" means: |
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| 65 | 65 | | (1) a bank, savings and loan association or savings |
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| 66 | 66 | | bank, credit union, or other depository institution or its |
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| 67 | 67 | | subsidiaries or affiliates; |
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| 68 | 68 | | (2) a mortgage banker or residential mortgage loan |
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| 69 | 69 | | company; |
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| 70 | 70 | | (3) a securities firm or registered financial advisory |
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| 71 | 71 | | firm; |
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| 72 | 72 | | (4) a regulated loan company; or |
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| 73 | 73 | | (5) an insurance company or insurance agency. |
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| 74 | 74 | | (g) This section does not apply to a personal social media |
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| 75 | 75 | | account or an electronic communication device of a financial |
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| 76 | 76 | | services employee who uses the account or device to conduct |
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| 77 | 77 | | business of the employer that is subject to the content, |
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| 78 | 78 | | supervision, and retention requirements imposed by federal |
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| 79 | 79 | | securities laws and regulations or by a self-regulatory |
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| 80 | 80 | | organization, as defined by Section 3(a)(26), Securities Exchange |
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| 81 | 81 | | Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. Section 78c). |
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| 82 | 82 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 83 | 83 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 84 | 84 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 85 | 85 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 86 | 86 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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