On August, 1, 2012, Illinois became the second state to protect workers from employers who attempt to gain access to employees' Facebook and other social networking accounts.  Governor Quinn signed a new law as an amendment to the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act.  

Under the newly amended Act which goes into effect on January 1, 2013, the employer is prohibited from requesting or requiring any employee or prospective employee to provide a password or other account information in order to gain access to an account or profile on a social networking website.  However, this law does not prohibit the employer from obtaining information that is in the public domain.  Email is not included in the definition of a social networking website.