Employment: personal social media of applicant or employee.
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SB 638 — Employment: personal social media of applicant or employee.
Last action — Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Reyes.
No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.
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✓Introduced
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✓In Committee
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3Passed Senate
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4Passed Assembly
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5To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill died with 2021-2022 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.
Summary
Existing law prohibits an employer from requiring or requesting an employee or applicant for employment to disclose a username or password for the purpose of accessing personal social media, to access personal social media in the presence of the employer, or to divulge any personal social media. Existing law also prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining, threatening to discharge or discipline, or otherwise retaliating against an employee or applicant for not complying with a request or demand by the employer that violates these provisions. Existing law defines the term "social media" for those purposes to mean an electronic service or account, or electronic content, including, but not limited to, videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, email, online services or accounts, or internet website profiles or locations. This bill would revise that definition of "social media" to also mean an electronic platform and to include chat rooms and bulletin boards.
Bill Text
- Amended 06/16/22 - Amended Assembly Current pdf June 16, 2022
- Amended 04/08/21 - Amended Senate pdf April 08, 2021
- Amended 03/10/21 - Amended Senate pdf March 10, 2021
- Introduced 02/19/21 - Introduced pdf February 19, 2021
- SB638 View text html
Action History
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Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Reyes.
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Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
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From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (June 28).
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From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (June 22). Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.
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From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on L. & E.
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Re-referred to Coms. on L. & E. and P. & C.P.
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Re-referred to Com. on RLS. pursuant to Assembly Rule 96.
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Referred to Coms. on B. & F. and P. & C.P.
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In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
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Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 1061.) Ordered to the Assembly.
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Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
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From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to consent calendar.
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Set for hearing May 3.
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From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 10. Noes 0. Page 776.) (April 13). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
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Set for hearing April 13.
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Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
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From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 9. Noes 0. Page 702.) (April 7).
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Set for hearing April 7.
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Re-referred to Coms. on B. & F.I. and JUD.
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From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
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Referred to Com. on RLS.
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Joint Rule 55 suspended. (Ayes 32. Noes 4. Page 272.)
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(Ayes 32. Noes 4.)
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Art. IV. Sec. 8(a) of the Constitution dispensed with.
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Read first time.
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From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 24.
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Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
Sponsors
- Hertzberg · Primary
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on
Sponsors (1)
- Hertzberg
Co-sponsors (0)
None.
Not signed on (121)
121 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 121 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Votes
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unaffiliated | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| % of votes cast | 80% | 0% | 0% | 20% |
How each member voted (10)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Cunningham | — | Not Voting |
| Kiley | — | Not Voting |
| Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca | Democratic | Yea |
| Bennett, Steve | Democratic | Yea |
| Fong, Mike | Democratic | Yea |
| Gabriel, Jesse | Democratic | Yea |
| Irwin, Jacqui | Democratic | Yea |
| Wicks, Buffy | Democratic | Yea |
| Wilson, Lori D. | Democratic | Yea |
| Valladares, Suzette Martinez | Republican | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| % of votes cast | 86% | 0% | 0% | 14% |
How each member voted (7)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Jones-Sawyer | — | Yea |
| Haney, Matt | Democratic | Yea |
| Kalra, Ash | Democratic | Yea |
| Reyes, Eloise Gómez | Democratic | Yea |
| Ward, Christopher M. | Democratic | Yea |
| Flora, Heath | Republican | Yea |
| Seyarto, Kelly | Republican | Not Voting |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unaffiliated | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Republican | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| % of votes cast | 73% | 0% | 0% | 27% |
How each member voted (11)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Maienschein | — | Yea |
| Cooley | — | Yea |
| Mathis | — | Yea |
| Villapudua | — | Not Voting |
| Waldron | — | Yea |
| Bennett, Steve | Democratic | Yea |
| Fong, Mike | Democratic | Yea |
| Gipson, Mike A. | Democratic | Yea |
| Lee, Alex | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Rubio, Blanca E. | Democratic | Yea |
| Flora, Heath | Republican | Not Voting |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Republican | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 37 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| % of votes cast | 93% | 0% | 0% | 8% |
How each member voted (40)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Hertzberg | — | Yea |
| Borgeas | — | Yea |
| Newman | — | Yea |
| Wilk | — | Yea |
| Pan | — | Yea |
| Bates | — | Yea |
| Portantino | — | Yea |
| Wieckowski | — | Yea |
| Nielsen | — | Yea |
| Dodd | — | Yea |
| Skinner | — | Yea |
| Atkins | — | Yea |
| Kamlager | — | Yea |
| Hueso | — | Yea |
| Gonzalez | — | Yea |
| Roth | — | Yea |
| Leyva | — | Yea |
| Min | — | Yea |
| Melendez | — | Yea |
| Bradford | — | Yea |
| Rubio | — | Yea |
| Glazer | — | Yea |
| Eggman | — | Yea |
| Allen, Benjamin | Democratic | Yea |
| Archuleta, Bob | Democratic | Yea |
| Becker, Josh | Democratic | Yea |
| Caballero, Anna M. | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Cortese, Dave | Democratic | Yea |
| Durazo, Maria Elena | Democratic | Yea |
| Hurtado, Melissa | Democratic | Yea |
| Laird, John | Democratic | Yea |
| Limón, Monique | Democratic | Not Voting |
| McGuire, Mike | Democratic | Yea |
| Stern, Henry I. | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Umberg, Thomas J. | Democratic | Yea |
| Wiener, Scott D. | Democratic | Yea |
| Dahle, Megan | Republican | Yea |
| Grove, Shannon | Republican | Yea |
| Jones, Brian W. | Republican | Yea |
| Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie | Republican | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Republican | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| % of votes cast | 91% | 0% | 0% | 9% |
How each member voted (11)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Gonzalez | — | Yea |
| Hertzberg | — | Yea |
| Wieckowski | — | Yea |
| Borgeas | — | Yea |
| Caballero, Anna M. | Democratic | Yea |
| Durazo, Maria Elena | Democratic | Yea |
| Laird, John | Democratic | Yea |
| Stern, Henry I. | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Umberg, Thomas J. | Democratic | Yea |
| Wiener, Scott D. | Democratic | Yea |
| Jones, Brian W. | Republican | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (9)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Bradford | — | Yea |
| Portantino | — | Yea |
| Min | — | Yea |
| Hueso | — | Yea |
| Caballero, Anna M. | Democratic | Yea |
| Durazo, Maria Elena | Democratic | Yea |
| Limón, Monique | Democratic | Yea |
| Dahle, Megan | Republican | Yea |
| Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie | Republican | Yea |
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- What does SB 638 do?
- Existing law prohibits an employer from requiring or requesting an employee or applicant for employment to disclose a username or password for the purpose of accessing personal social media, to access personal social media in the presence of the employer, or to divulge any personal social media. Existing law also prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining, threatening to discharge or discipline, or otherwise retaliating against an employee or applicant for not complying with a request or demand by the employer that violates these provisions. Existing law defines the term "social media" for those purposes to mean an electronic service or account, or electronic content, including, but not limited to, videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, email, online services or accounts, or internet website profiles or locations. This bill would revise that definition of "social media" to also mean an electronic platform and to include chat rooms and bulletin boards.
- Who sponsors SB 638?
- SB 638 is sponsored by Hertzberg.
- What is the current status of SB 638?
- This bill died with 2021-2022 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
- Where can I track SB 638?
- Track SB 638 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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