by Nick Fishman

We came across an article that we feel provides faulty information to the public. “On The Hunt for Information” comes to us from a Bowling Green University student newspaper, so we’ll give a slight pass to the publishers for not doing all their homework. However, it’s out there, so I’d like to deal with the insinuation that relying on Social Networking sites such as Facebook and My Space to aid the employment background screening process is a good practice. This is bad advice and those that use this type of information are begging for litigation.

We’ve opined on this issue extensively in the past, but thought it might be helpful to reiterate our thoughts. The practice of using Social Networking sites is a clear violation of a Consumers Rights under the FCRA and has the potential to raise the ire of the EEOC. There is no way to verify that the information found on such sites is in fact accurate, so if an employer makes an adverse decision based on erroneous information there is no way for the applicant to dispute. Secondly, how do employers make consistent hiring decisions based on the depth of information available on these sites?

Next are the potential opportunities for discrimination or at least the appearance of it. People post things such as religious beliefs, sexual orientation, political views, etc. Pictures obviously allow others to see skin color, and personal characteristics such as piercings, tattoos, and the like. Do employers want to defend themselves against such claims when they reject applicants after they’ve perused their Facebook profile?

SmartMoney magazine recently conducted an interview with employment attorney Jeanine DeBacker on this very topic. Her concerns with this practice include the following:

• Younger applicant’s (those that would be most affected) are unaware of the impact of posted questionable behavior and, or unaware of what is accepted in the professional world
• Hiring decisions can be influenced by personal judgment, including prohibited criteria (sexual orientation, for example)
• Is the information contained online a real predictor of future work behavior?

View the full article here. http://www.smartmoney.com/theproshop/index.cfm?story=20071213

What can we recommend to job applicants?

• Some employers are using Social Networking sites are part of their background screening procedures
• Job Applicants (especially younger ones) should be careful about what they post on Social Networking sites and keep a watchful eye on what others post about them

What can we recommend to employers?

• Do your homework on this issue and make sure you are aware of the myriad liabilities involved
• Careful of what you read out there. The article found in the Bowling Green newspaper does an adequate job of highlighting the issue, but does not tell the whole story

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 7:48 am and is filed under Articles, Social Networking Sites, Trend in Employment Screening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.