Chris McCarty was interviewed by Jim Matheny, WBIR, on new state law protecting employees’ online privacy.
(WBIR) Now that 2015 is here, the new year means lots of new laws take effect in Tennessee. That includes a change that protects employees’ private information on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts from nosy bosses.
“The new law says an employer cannot force you to tell them your social media passwords or login to let them see what you’re doing. That seems obvious to most people. But what an employer also cannot do anymore is tell an employee or applicant, I need you to ‘friend’ me on Facebook, or I need you to friend me on Instagram, or follow me on Twitter. That way I can see what you’re doing,” said Chris McCarty, a Knoxville attorney who specializes in employment law.
Tennessee now joins a list of dozens of states that have passed an Employee Online Privacy Act. McCarty says it protects people who make their online settings private, not the information someone shares with the entire world wide web.
See the interview in its entirety at: http://www.wbir.com/story/news/local/2015/01/01/tennessee-online-privacy-law/21164777/
Chris W. McCarty, a shareholder in our Knoxville office, practices in the areas of employment law, education law and general civil litigation.