New Laws in Effect for Maryland Employers, October 1st

Christine V. Walters, MAS, JD, SPHR, Independent Consultant, Author and Principal of FiveL Company, advises that effective October 1, a new law is in effect for Maryland employers concerning Password Privacy.

The law states: An employer may not request or require that an employee or applicant disclose any user name, password, or other means, for accessing a personal account or service through an electronic communication device, except where a nonpersonal account or service provides access to the employer’s internal computer or information systems; or discipline, discharge or otherwise penalize or threaten an employee or applicant for failure to disclose the information described in above. 

There are two key exceptions: Employer may investigate allegations that an employee has used a personal website, internet website or web-based or similar account for business purposes, in order to ensure compliance with securities, financial law or regulatory compliance OR of unauthorized downloading of an employer’s proprietary information or financial data to an employee’s personal web site, internet web site, web-based account, or similar account by an employee.

A coalition of organizations, including the BWCC, lobbied against the bill being enacted; however, legislators, at the insistent of business, did add the exceptions to the measure.

Jury Leave

An employer may not require an employee who is summoned and appears for jury service for 4 or more hours, including travel time, to work a shift that begins on or after 5 p.m. the day of service or before 3:00 a.m. the day following service. Violations subject to $1,000.

Privileged Communications

If any or all of your employees are unionized you want to be aware of this new law. With certain exceptions, the law now provides that a labor organization or an agent thereof may not be compelled to disclose, in any court, administrative, arbitration or other proceeding, any communication or information that:

1. the labor organization or an agent of the labor organization acquired from a member of the labor organization in the course of the agent’s professional duties or while acting in the agent’s representative capacity
2. the labor organization or agency received or acquired in confidence from a member of the labor organization
3. an employee while the labor organization or agent was acting in a representative capacity concerning employee grievance.