US recruiters suggest to Recruiter that there is likely to be little impact on the industry from new laws passed in two states and pending in another that forbid employers from asking their staff or applicants to disclose social media passwords.

Illinois and Maryland have already passed such laws, while California’s Senate has already given the go-ahead to a similar bill, which now requires a vote in its lower house of government, the Assembly.

Echoing previous sentiment espoused in the UK, two US recruitment professionals tells Recruiter they feel this is unlikely to have much effect on them and their business.

Dave Nerz, the president of recruiting network NPA Worldwide, says: “I find it hard to believe that there are that many people who are actually asking employees for their password”, adding that to him the possibility “seems like an urban legend”.

Independent sourcer and recruiter Marcus Ronaldi, who operates from California as Marcus Ronaldi Associates, agrees and adds: “In all of the interviews I’ve placed people on… this has never come up once.”

However, Ronaldi adds that he would always advise candidates to be careful with what they choose to do online via social networks, and that he “wouldn’t work for a place that asks for that… it’s a ridiculous thing”.

Meanwhile, a UK survey from multi-sector recruiter Barker Ross shows that 5.5% of UK women and 12.5% of UK males would give up their Facebook password to a potential employer.

Director Tim Sutcliffe admits that he has “not really” seen this happen in practice, but notes that “businesses are looking for so many ways to ensure they’re making the right choice”, which includes various social media screening, in some cases checking out the person’s home address on Google Street View. “The worrying trend,” he tells Recruiter, “is when do you stop?”