Local

Proposed bill to keep employers from accessing applicants' FB, Twitter

FLORIDA — As if it's not hard enough applying for jobs, some businesses are now asking potential hires to hand over their Facebook and Twitter passwords so they can look through them before they're hired.

But Sen. Jeff Clemens of Lake Worth wants to stop that, and Channel 9's Racquel Asa learned how the proposed bill could help job candidates.

Tammy McCary is back in the job market after losing her job eight months ago. She said she's all for a law that prevents a potential employer from asking her for her Facebook information.

"It's my personal life and it definitely needs to be separated from your work life," said McCary.

"If you don't take the time to really understand what you're putting out there and an employer sees that, they can form an opinion about that and it can be harmful for your job search efforts," said Jason Lietz of Workforce Central Florida.

In August, a Volusia County Beach Safety officer was fired after he made offensive comments about the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case.

In March, a Sanford police officer was disciplined for using a derogatory word on her private page.

The proposed bill would be even more important now for Facebook users after the company announced it's getting rid of a privacy setting that allows hidden profiles to be searched.

The legislation even goes as far as allowing potential employees to sue an employer if they push for passwords and usernames.

"Obviously if you don't give the password up, the likelihood is that you are not going to get the position and if you did give it up, you are really are giving away some of your privacy," said Clemens.

"It's hard enough to get a job with the every day-to-day logistics," said McCary.

If the state Legislature approves the bill without any changes, it'll go into effect next October.