Employers want your Facebook password

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. (WAVY) - Torrey Moltedo, of Wallops Island, checks his Facebook page every once in awhile, but he never thought the  occasional hobby would get in the way of a much needed job at a Maryland jail.

"I was asked for information pertaining to my Facebook and MySpace account, and at that point, I expressed that I was uncomfortable to provide that information and following that the interview was promptly concluded," said Moltedo.

Moltedo told WAVY.com he has nothing to hide, he just didn't understand why the jail needed his personal password.

"They had done a State Police background check and everything that was required for the position to clear me."

Needless to say, Moltedo didn't get the job.

"I don't regret my decision at all, and I would not change the decision if I was faced with that today," Moltedo continued.

But, is it legal for a company to not hire because someone refuses to hand over such personal information?

"It is potentially a violation of a general privacy right. There is nothing I can think of right now in Virginia that would protect an applicant if they say no and then they don't get the job," said Attorney Lisa Bertini, of Bertini O'Donnell & Hammer, PC.

There are laws meant to protect you from others seeing anything you communicate via text or computer. One of them, the Stored Communications Act , states no can "intentionally accesses without authorization" any communication you have through an electronic device.

"Those acts while they were good at the time, they were made...pre the internet going absolutely nuclear," added Bertini.

That's where United States Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chuck Schumer come in.  The two vow to close the loopholes in laws that could allow companies to ask for your passwords.

"The good news is it may be illegal already. We do have privacy laws, but they're not updated to deal with modern technologies like Facebook," explained Senator Schumer, (D) New York.

While lawmakers work on changes, Bertini told WAVY.com the Facebook password practice could be a slippery slope for employers.

"To me, it's opening the door...for very, very good plaintiff-oriented lawsuits against the employers."

To hear Bertini's full interview about the topic click here .

Facebook's terms of rights and responsibilities forbids users from sharing their passwords. A company spokesperson said you should never have to let anyone access your account, or do anything that might jeopardize the security of your account, or violate the privacy of your friends