1.This Act may be cited as the
Password Protection Act of
2012
.
2.
(a)Section 1030(a) of
title 18, United States Code, is amended—
(1)in paragraph
(7)(C), by inserting or
after the semicolon; and
(2)by inserting after
paragraph (7)(C) the following:
(8)acting as an
employer, knowingly and intentionally—
(A)for the purposes
of employing, promoting, or terminating employment, compels or coerces any
person to authorize access, such as by providing a password or similar
information through which a computer may be accessed, to a protected computer
that is not the employer's protected computer, and thereby obtains information
from such protected computer; or
(B)discharges,
disciplines, discriminates against in any manner, or threatens to take any such
action against, any person—
(i)for failing to
authorize access described in subparagraph (A) to a protected computer that is
not the employer's protected computer; or
(ii)who has filed any
complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or
related to this paragraph, or has testified or is about to testify in any such
proceeding;
.
(b)Section
1030(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
(1)in paragraph
(4)(G)(ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting ;
and
; and
(2)by adding at the
end the following:
(5)a fine under this
title, in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(8) or an attempt to
commit an offense punishable under this
paragraph.
.
(c)Section
1030(e) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
(1)in paragraph (11),
by striking and
after the semicolon;
(2)in paragraph (12),
by striking the period and inserting a semicolon; and
(3)by adding at the
end the following:
(13)the term
employee means an employee, as such term is defined in section
201(2) of the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C.
2000ff(2));
(14)the term
employer means an employer, as such term is defined in such
section 201(2); and
(15)the term
employer’s protected computer means a protected computer of the
employer, including any protected computer owned, operated, or otherwise
controlled by, for, or on behalf of that
employer.
.
(d)Section
1030(f) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
(1)by striking
(f) This
and inserting (f)(1) This
; and
(2)by adding at the
end the following:
(2)(A)Nothing in subsection (a)(8) shall be
construed to limit the authority of a court of competent jurisdiction to grant
equitable relief in a civil action, if the court determines that there are
specific and articulable facts showing that there are reasonable grounds to
believe that the information sought to be obtained is relevant and material to
protecting the intellectual property, a trade secret, or confidential business
information of the party seeking the relief.
(B)Notwithstanding subsection (a)(8),
the prohibition in such subsection shall not apply to an employer’s actions
if—
(i)the employer discharges or otherwise
disciplines an individual for good cause and an activity protected under
subsection (a)(8) is not a motivating factor for the discharge or discipline of
the individual;
(ii)a State enacts a law that
specifically waives subsection (a)(8) with respect to a particular class of
State government employees or employees who work with individuals under 13
years of age, and the employer’s action relates to an employee in such class;
or
(iii)an Executive agency (as defined in
section 105 of title 5), a military department (as defined in section 102 of
such title), or any other entity within the executive branch that comes into
the possession of classified information, including the Defense Intelligence
Agency, National Security Agency, and National Reconnaissance Office,
specifically waives subsection (a)(8) with respect to a particular class of
employees requiring eligibility for access to classified information under
Executive Order 12968 (60 Fed. Reg. 40245), or any successor thereto, and the
employer's action relates to an employee in such
class.
.