Can someone force you to put your picture and personal information on the Web? If your employer chooses to do so, you may not have much recourse.

The concerns for an employee are valid. Employees may worry that their personal information could find its way into the hands of identity thieves or stalkers. Employers, however, may want potential customers or investors to know the expertise of its staff.

Peter Swire, former chief counselor for privacy for the federal government, says that the basic rule is, employers in the U.S. can share or disclose personal information about their employees except in states specifically prohibiting the disclosures. Companies may make public an employee's work history with the company and job duties. Photographs and more personal information, such as age, may also become part of the company's website.

Workers have expressed concern with this policy. The nonprofit organization Privacy and American Business released a study last year reporting that 85 percent of respondents to a survey believed it was very important for a business to create an employee privacy policy, but only 38 percent of employers had adopted one.

If a firm pledges to keep your private information confidential, then it is legally bound to do so.