Originally published in Law360, San Diego (April 25, 2012, 8:43 PM ET)

California on Wednesday moved a step closer to banning employers from demanding access to workers' and job applicants' Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts after a bill breezed through another state Senate panel.

The Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee voted 5-0 for S.B. 1349 by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, that seeks to prohibit companies from formally requesting or requiring employees and job candidates to disclose their social media usernames and passwords, following unanimous approval of the measure by the Senate Education Committee last week.

The legislation, which would also block colleges and universities from requiring the information from students, now proceeds to the Senate Appropriations Committee.