I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 537 
To prohibit employers and certain other entities from requiring or requesting 
that employees and certain other individuals provide a user name, pass-
word, or other means for accessing a personal account on any social 
networking website. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 6, 2013 
Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. GRIMM, Mr. TONKO, Mr. 
ELLISON, and Ms. PINGREE of Maine) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To prohibit employers and certain other entities from requir-
ing or requesting that employees and certain other indi-
viduals provide a user name, password, or other means 
for accessing a personal account on any social networking 
website. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Social Networking On-
line Protection Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. EMPLOYER ACCESS TO PERSONAL ACCOUNTS ON 
SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES. 
(a) CONDUCT PROHIBITED.—It shall be unlawful for 
any employer— 
(1) to require or request that an employee or 
applicant for employment provide the employer with 
a user name, password, or any other means for ac-
cessing a private email account of the employee or 
applicant or the personal account of the employee or 
applicant on any social networking website; or 
(2) to discharge, discipline, discriminate against 
in any manner, or deny employment or promotion 
to, or threaten to take any such action against, any 
employee or applicant for employment because— 
(A) the employee or applicant for employ-
ment refuses or declines to provide a user 
name, password, or other means for accessing a 
private email account of the employee or appli-
cant or the personal account of the employee or 
applicant on any social networking website; or 
(B) such employee or applicant for employ-
ment has filed any complaint or instituted or 
caused to be instituted any proceeding under or 
related to this Act or has testified or is about 
to testify in any such proceeding. 
(b) ENFORCEMENT.— 
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(1) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph 
(2), any employer who violates any provision of 
this Act may be assessed a civil penalty of not 
more than $10,000. 
(B) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT.—In de-
termining the amount of any penalty under 
paragraph (1), the Secretary of Labor shall 
take into account the previous record of the 
person in terms of compliance with this Act and 
the gravity of the violation. 
(C) COLLECTION.—Any civil penalty as-
sessed under this subsection shall be collected 
in the same manner as is required by sub-
sections (b) through (e) of section 503 of the 
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Pro-
tection Act (29 U.S.C. 1853) with respect to 
civil penalties assessed under subsection (a) of 
such section. 
(2) INJUNCTIVE ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY 
OF LABOR.—The Secretary of Labor may bring an 
action under this section to restrain violations of this 
Act. In any action brought under this section, the 
district courts of the United States shall have juris-
diction, for cause shown, to issue temporary or per-
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