That Can’t Be Right…

This shouldn't be a law; it shouldn't have to be.  Companies are way overstepping their bounds, ethically.

Please don’t ask your employment (or volunteer) candidates for any passwords or other private information.  Be aware of legal implications (like learning someone’s age or marital status, which is protected information), but also just leave it alone because that’s the right thing to do.  Your employees are to trusted and respected.  Give them some privacy and some room to be themselves, especially outside of the workplace.

Update 2020:  It also turns out that information gleaned from social media is not useful in determining cultural fit, employee productivity, nor loyalty to the organization where they are hired.  (So just don’t do it!  Let them tell you what they want you to know about them, ask for references or previous employers if you like (but know those are likely to be positively biased), and only do further background checks as required for the job they will be doing (others just aren’t necessary and may inadvertently discriminate against people of color or those from lower socio-economic backgrounds).

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