Are employers allowed to monitor their employees’ social media accounts?

In North Carolina, employers are generally allowed to monitor their employees’ social media accounts. While state laws do not specifically address the issue, a court ruling from 2013 indicates that employers are legally within their rights to do so. The ruling said that employers can lawfully monitor and review employees’ activities on social media sites, including viewing their posts, tweets, and other activities. There are limits, however. Employers cannot use social media accounts to try to obtain private information about their employees that would not otherwise be known. Such information includes race, religion, political affiliation, or any other information that would be deemed confidential. Employers also must be careful to not invade their employees’ privacy while monitoring their social media accounts. For example, employers cannot require their employees to give them access to their personal accounts. Employers cannot use social media to secure information that the employee would not ordinarily share with the public. Overall, if employers monitor social media accounts of their employees, they must make sure that the information they access is only relevant to the job and that they are not invading the employee’s privacy. If these limits are followed, employers in North Carolina can generally monitor their employees’ social media accounts.

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Are employers allowed to monitor their employees’ social media accounts?

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