Using Facebook At Work: 7 Tips

By Aaron Guerrero

You may be a social media junkie, hopping from one site to another. But if your employer suspects you check your friend's Facebook wall more than your work emails, he may be entitled to make you hand over your passwords.

Lawmakers across the country have begun weighing social media privacy laws that bar employers from hiring or firing employees for not surrendering an account username or password. Social media privacy laws have been introduced or are pending in 35 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislators, an organization that tracks legislation at the state level. Since the beginning of this year, five states -– including Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Washington –- have enacted legislation that prohibits employers from accessing social media passwords of employees.