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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 161
Introduced by McDonnell, 5.
Read first time January 09, 2023
Committee: Business and Labor
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to the Workplace Privacy Act; to amend
2 sections 48-3502 and 48-3503, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska;
3 to redefine a term; to prohibit employers from taking certain
4 actions; and to repeal the original sections.
5 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 48-3502, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
2 amended to read:
3 48-3502 For purposes of the Workplace Privacy Act:
4 (1) Adverse action means the discharge of an employee, a threat
5 against an employee, or any other act against an employee that negatively
6 affects the employee’s employment;
7 (2) Applicant means a prospective employee applying for employment;
8 (3) Electronic communication device means a cellular telephone,
9 personal digital assistant, electronic device with mobile data access,
10 laptop computer, pager, broadband personal communication device, two-way
11 messaging device, electronic game, or portable computing device;
12 (4) Employee means an individual employed by an employer;
13 (5) Employer means (a) a public or nonpublic entity or an individual
14 engaged in a business, an industry, a profession, a trade, or other
15 enterprise in the state, including any agent, representative, or designee
16 acting directly or indirectly in the interest of such an employer, (b) a
17 subcontractor of such an employer, and (c) a customer of such an
18 employer; and
19 (6)(a) Personal Internet account means an individual’s online
20 account that requires login information in order to access or control the
21 account.
22 (b) Personal Internet account does not include:
23 (i) An online account that an employer or educational institution
24 supplies or pays for, except when the employer or educational institution
25 pays only for additional features or enhancements to the online account;
26 or
27 (ii) An online account that is used exclusively for a business
28 purpose of the employer.
29 Sec. 2. Section 48-3503, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
30 amended to read:
31 48-3503 No employer shall:
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1 (1) Require or request that an employee or applicant provide or
2 disclose any user name or password or any other related account
3 information in order to gain access to the employee's or applicant's
4 personal Internet account by way of an electronic communication device;
5 (2) Require or request that an employee or applicant log into a
6 personal Internet account by way of an electronic communication device in
7 the presence of the employer in a manner that enables the employer to
8 observe the contents of the employee’s or applicant’s personal Internet
9 account or provides the employer access to the employee's or applicant's
10 personal Internet account;
11 (3) Require an employee or applicant to add anyone, including the
12 employer, to the list of contacts associated with the employee's or
13 applicant’s personal Internet account or require or otherwise coerce an
14 employee or applicant to change the settings on the employee's or
15 applicant's personal Internet account which affects the ability of others
16 to view the content of such account; or
17 (4) Require an electronic communication device to be worn by an
18 employee to track the employee's location or travel patterns or to
19 confirm contacts with other employees, unless the Governor proclaims a
20 state of emergency for a pandemic pursuant to section 81-829.40 and the
21 following conditions are met:
22 (a) The state of emergency proclamation permits an employer to use
23 an electronic communication device for contact tracing purposes only;
24 (b) The contact tracing is permitted only on the employer's premises
25 during employee work hours; and
26 (c) The data collected during the contact tracing is not included in
27 the employee's personnel files and is destroyed within forty-eight hours
28 after the expiration of any tracing period recommended by the Centers for
29 Disease Control and Prevention; or
30 (5) (4) Take adverse action against, fail to hire, or otherwise
31 penalize an employee or applicant for failure to provide or disclose any
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1 of the information or to take any of the actions specified in
2 subdivisions (1) through (4) (3) of this section.
3 Sec. 3. Original sections 48-3502 and 48-3503, Reissue Revised
4 Statutes of Nebraska, are repealed.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 48-3502, 48-3503