Congress unsurprisingly couldn’t muster the wherewithal to approve the Password Protection Act of 2012, so a handful of states have taken it upon themselves.

The new laws come amid reports nationwide that employers were demanding access to their employees’ or potential employees’ personal, non-public data on Facebook, Twitter and other social-media accounts.

Facebook, too, said in March that it noticed an increase in complaints about employers demanding “inappropriate access” to Facebook accounts.

California’s and Illinois’ laws took force Tuesday, the first day of the year. Michigan’s and New Jersey’s became active last month and Maryland’s, in October. Delaware’s measure became law in July.

California Assemblywoman Nora Campos, a Democrat from San Jose, said when the Golden State’s measure unanimously passed the California Assembly in May, that AB 1844 would protect Californians from snooping employers.