Wisconsin has become the thirteenth state to enact a law limiting the circumstances under which employers may request or require access to the personal internet accounts of applicants and employees.  The 2013 Wisconsin Act 208, which amends the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA) and will be enforced by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD), prohibits employers from “requesting or requiring” employees and applicants to provide “access information” for their “personal Internet account” or “to otherwise grant access to or allow observation of that account.”  A "personal Internet account" is any “Internet-based account that is created and used by [an employee or applicant] exclusively for purposes of personal communications.”  “Access information” means the “password or any other security information” that protects access to a personal Internet account.  Access information does not include an employee’s personal e-mail address; the Act expressly permits employers to require employees to disclose that information.  In addition to prohibiting these requests for access information and access, the new law, as a general rule, prohibits employers from discriminating or retaliating against (e.g., discharging or refusing to hire) an employee or applicant who exercises their rights under the law. Continue reading this article here.