New Nevada Employment Law Developments Affect Social Media, Overtime

There have been several notable and recent developments in Nevada employment law both through enacted legislation and advisory opinions issued by the Nevada Labor Commissioner. Specifically, the legislature has passed a law limiting employer access to employee and applicant social media information. Additionally, Nevada's Office of the Labor Commissioner (Labor Commissioner) recently issued two advisory opinions regarding time clock rounding and the "4 10s" exception to the state's overtime laws.

Employee Social Media Information

During the most recent legislative session, Governor Brian Sandoval signed into law Assembly Bill 181, which makes Nevada the eleventh and latest state to enact employment-related provisions limiting employer access to employees' and applicants' social media information.

Under the law, an employer cannot:

Directly or indirectly require, request, suggest, or cause an employee or prospective employee to disclose a user name, password, or other information providing access to his or her personal social media account; or Threaten to or actually discharge, discipline, discriminate in any manner, or deny employment or promotion to an employee or prospective employee who refuses, declines, or fails to disclose a user name, password, or any other information providing access to his or her personal social media account. The new law defines "social media account" as "any electronic service or account or electronic content, including, without limitation, videos, photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, electronic mail programs or services, online services or Internet website profiles."

The law is far less detailed than some other analogous state laws, but lacks certain employer protections set forth in other state statutes. For example, unlike California's statute, Nevada's social media provision does not include an exception that allows an employer to request that an employee divulge personal social media reasonably believed to be relevant to an investigation of allegations of employee misconduct. However, Nevada's new law does allow an employer to require an employee to disclose a user name, password, or other information to an account or service (other than a personal social media account), to access the employer's internal computer or information system. Further, the law does not prevent an employer from complying with state or federal statutes or regulations.

In response to the new law...